Human sulfonylurea receptor

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a human sulfonylurea receptor (SURH) and the polynucleotides which identify and encode SURH. The invention also provides genetically engineered expression vectors and host cells comprising the nucleic acid sequences encoding SURH and methods for producing the protein. The invention also provides pharmaceutical compositions containing SURH, agonists to SURH, or antagonists to SURH, and in the use of such compositions for the prevention or treatment of diseases associated with the expression of SURH. Additionally, the invention provides for the use of antisense molecules to polynucleotides encoding SURH for the treatment of diseases associated with the expression of SURH. The invention also provides diagnostic assays which utilize the polynucleotide, or fragments or the complement thereof, to hybridize to the genomic sequence or transcripts of polynucleotides encoding SURH, or anti-SURH antibodies which specifically bind to SURH.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to nucleic acid and amino acid sequences of a novel human sulfonylurea receptor and to the use of these sequences in the diagnosis, study, prevention and treatment of disease.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

ATP-dependent potassium (K_(ATP)) channels serve to couple metabolic state to electrical activity in many types of cells. By hyperpolarizing the cell, K_(ATP) channels limit electrical activity and hence reduce Ca²⁺ entry into muscle and nerve cells. In the pancreas, they are a critical link between blood glucose concentration and insulin secretion.

Sulfonylureas (SUs) are oral hypoglycemics widely used in the treatment of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). SUs stimulate insulin release from pancreatic islet β cells. The mechanism for insulin release involves 1) inhibition of a K_(ATP) channel which sets the β cell resting membrane potential, 2) reduction of K⁺ outflow which causes β cell depolarization and 3) the activation of one or more voltage-dependent L-type calcium channels which results in Ca²⁺ influx, exocytosis, and insulin release. SUs such as tolbutamide or glyburide decrease K_(ATP) channel activity, thereby depolarizing the cell and triggering insulin release.

Until recently the K_(ATP) channel and the sulfonylurea receptor (SUR) were thought to be the same molecule (Aguilar-Bryan et al (1995) Science 268:423-426); however, SUR does not possess intrinsic K⁺ channel activity (Ammala C et al (1996) Nature 379:545-548). Instead SUR interacts with inward-rectifier K⁺ channels, conferring SU and ATP sensitivity to and modulating the activity of these channels (Inagaki N et al (1995) Science 270: 1166-1170).

A second isoform of SUR, denoted SUR2, has recently been discovered in rat. This isoform has different tissue distribution and different SU and ATP binding properties from rat SUR (Inagaki N et al (1996) Neuron 16:1011-1017). The channel kinetics of Kir6.2, an inward-rectifier K⁺ channel, co-expressed with SUR2 are different than the channel kinetics of Kir6.2 co-expressed with SUR. Based on these observations, it is suggested that a family of structurally related but functionally distinct SURs determine the ATP sensitivity and pharmacological responses of K_(ATP) channels in various tissues (Inagaki N et al (1996), supra).

SURs from rat and hamster consist of 1581 and 1582 amino acids, respectively, with 12 potential membrane-spanning helices (Aguilar-Bryan et al, supra). In addition, the proteins contain two domains having strong similarity to the nucleotide binding folds (NBFs) of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) superfamily of proteins. The proposed topology of the rat, hamster, and a recently reported human SUR (GenBank GI 1369844; unpublished) consists of an external amino terminus, nine predicted transmembrane helices, the first cytosolic NBF (NBF-1), four more transmembrane helices, the second cytosolic NBF (NBF-2) and a cytosolic C-terminus. The topology of the SURs are similar to other members of the ABC superfamily including multidrug resistance (MDR) proteins and cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulators (CFTR; Philipson LH and Steiner DF (1995) Science 268:372-373).

The NBFs of ABC superfamily proteins control activity through their interaction with cytosolic nucleotides. In cystic fibrosis, the more frequent and severe disease mutations are located in the nucleotides encoding the two NBFs of the CFTR protein (Tsui L-C (1992) Trends Genet 8:392). Familial persistent hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia of infancy (PHHI) may be caused by mutations affecting NBF-2 of SUR (Thomas P M et al (1995) Science 268:426-429).

SU-sensitive K_(ATP) channels are present in brain cells and play a role in neurosecretion at nerve terminals. K_(ATP) channels in the substantia nigra, a brain region that shows high SU binding, are inhibited by high glucose concentrations and antidiabetic SUs, and are activated by ATP depletion and anoxia. Furthermore, inhibition of the K_(ATP) channel activates gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) release, whereas K_(ATP) channel activation inhibits GABA release (Amoroso S et al (1990) Science 247:852-854; Schmidt-Antomarchi et al (1990) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 87: 3489-3492).

Action potentials in cardiac cells are modulated by SU compounds binding to SURs. The duration of the action potential of guinea pig cardiac cells was drastically reduced by decreasing intracellular ATP concentrations ([ATP]_(in)) by perfusion or by blockade of oxidative phosphorylation. Glibenclamide, an SU compound, was found to restore normal or nearly normal action potentials in these [ATP]_(in)-depleted cardiac cells. (Fosset M et al (1988) J Biol Chem 263:7933-7936). Restoration was attributed to inhibition of cardiac K_(ATP) channels by sulfonylurea compounds acting via the SURs.

SURs confer ATP and SU sensitivity to inwardly-rectifying potassium channels, thereby coupling metabolic state to electrical activity in tissues such as brain, pancreas, and heart. SURs are useful in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases related to abnormal K_(ATP) channel function, such as NIDDM and PHHI. The selective modulation of the expression or activities of SURs may allow the successful management of such diseases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention discloses a human sulfonylurea receptor protein, hereinafter referred to as SURH, having chemical and structural homology to the SUR protein from rat and hamster. Accordingly, the invention features a substantially purified SURH, having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 and the structural characteristics of SURs.

One aspect of the invention features isolated and substantially purified polynucleotides which encode SURH. In a particular aspect, the polynucleotide is the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:2. In another aspect, the polynucleotide is the nucleotide sequence extending from T₂₇₈₀ to A₂₉₂₃ of SEQ ID NO:2.

The invention also relates to a polynucleotide sequence comprising the complement of SEQ ID NO:2 or variants thereof. In addition, the invention features nucleotide sequences which hybridize under stringent conditions to SEQ ID NO:2.

The present invention also relates to an expression vector which contains polynucleotides encoding SURH, and the use of said vector to transform or transfect host cells or organisms. The invention also features methods for producing SURH. The present invention also relates to antibodies which bind specifically to SURH polypeptides, and to agonists and antagonists of SURH. The present invention also relates to pharmaceutical compositions comprising SURH, fragments thereof, agonists of SURH, or antagonists of SURH, in conjunction with a suitable pharmaceutical carrier.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIGS. 1A-1M show the amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO:1) and the nucleic acid sequence (SEQ ID NO:2) of the human sulfonylurea receptor protein SURH, produced using MACDNASIS software (Hitachi Software Engineering Co Ltd).

FIGS. 2A-2H show the amino acid sequence alignments among SURH (SEQ ID NO:1), a human SUR isoform (GI 1369844; SEQ ID NO:3), SUR from Norway rat (GI 13115343; SEQ ID NO:4), and SUR from black-bellied hamster (GI 784874; SEQ ID NO:5) produced using the multisequence alignment program of DNASTAR software (DNAStar Inc, Madison Wis.).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Definitions

“Nucleic acid sequence” as used herein refers to an oligonucleotide, nucleotide or polynucleotide, and fragments or portions thereof, and to DNA or RNA of genomic or synthetic origin which may be single- or double-stranded, and represent the sense or antisense strand. Similarly, amino acid sequence as used herein refers to peptide or protein sequence.

“Consensus” as used herein may refer to a nucleic acid sequence 1) which has been resequenced to resolve uncalled bases, 2) which has been extended using XL-PCR (Perkin Elmer, Norwalk Conn.) in the 5′ and/or the 3′ direction and resequenced, 3) which has been assembled from the overlapping sequences of more than one Incyte clone GCG Fragment Assembly System, (GCG, Madison Wis.), or 4) which has been both extended and assembled.

“Peptide nucleic acid” as used herein refers to a molecule which comprises an oligomer to which an amino acid residue, such as lysine, and an amino group have been added. These small molecules, also designated anti-gene agents, stop transcript elongation by binding to their complementary (template) strand of nucleic acid (Nielsen PE et al (1993) Anticancer Drug Des 8:53-63).

A “variant” of SURH is defined as an amino acid sequence that is different by one or more amino acid substitutions. The variant may have “conservative” changes, wherein a substituted amino acid has similar structural or chemical properties, eg, replacement of leucine with isoleucine. More rarely, a variant may have “nonconservative” changes, eg, replacement of a glycine with a tryptophan. Similar minor variations may also include amino acid deletions or insertions, or both. Guidance in determining which and how many amino acid residues may be substituted, inserted or deleted without abolishing biological or immunological activity may be found using computer programs well known in the art, for example, DNASTAR software.

A “deletion” is defined as a change in either nucleotide or amino acid sequence in which one or more nucleotides or amino acid residues, respectively, are absent.

An “insertion” or “addition” is that change in a nucleotide or amino acid sequence which has resulted in the addition of one or more nucleotides or amino acid residues, respectively, as compared to the naturally occurring SURH.

A “substitution” results from the replacement of one or more nucleotides or amino acids by different nucleotides or amino acids, respectively.

The term “biologically active” refers to a SURH having structural, regulatory or biochemical functions of the naturally occurring SURH. Likewise, “immunologically active” defines the capability of the natural, recombinant or synthetic SURH, or any oligopeptide thereof, to induce a specific immune response in appropriate animals or cells and to bind with specific antibodies.

The term “agonist” refers to a molecule which, when bound to SURH, causes a change in SURH which modulates the biological activity of SURH.

The term “antagonist” refers to a molecule which, when bound to SURH, blocks the binding of an agonist to SURH, which prevents the agonist-induced change in the biological activity of SURH. Agonists and antagonists may include proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, or other molecules which bind to SURH.

The term “modulate” as used herein refers to a change or an alteration in the biological activity of SURH. Modulation may be an increase or a decrease in biological activity, a change in binding characteristics, or any other change in the biological properties of SURH.

The term “derivative” as used herein refers to the chemical modification of a nucleic acid encoding SURH or the encoded SURH. Illustrative of such modifications would be replacement of hydrogen by an alkyl, acyl, or amino group. A nucleic acid derivative would encode a polypeptide which retains essential biological characteristics of natural SURH.

As used herein, the term “substantially purified” refers to molecules, either nucleic or amino acid sequences, that are removed from their natural environment, isolated or separated, and are at least 60% free, preferably 75% free, and most preferably 90% free from other components with which they are naturally associated.

“Stringency” typically occurs in a range from about Tm-5° C. (5° C. below the Tm of the probe) to about 20° C. to 25° C. below Tm. As will be understood by those of skill in the art, a stringency hybridization can be used to identify or detect identical polynucleotide sequences or to identify or detect similar or related polynucleotide sequences.

The term “hybridization” as used herein shall include “any process by which a strand of nucleic acid joins with a complementary strand through base pairing” (Coombs J (1994) Dictionary of Biotechnoloay, Stockton Press, New York N.Y.). Amplification as carried out in the polymerase chain reaction technologies is described in Dieffenbach C W and G S Dveksler (1995, PCR Primer, a Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Press, Plainview N.Y.).

Preferred Embodiments

The invention relates to a human sulfonylurea receptor protein, SURH, initially identified among the cDNAs from a library constructed from human brain tissue (BRAINOT03) and to the use of the nucleic acid and amino acid sequences disclosed herein in the study, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of disease. Northern analysis using the LIFESEQ™ database (Incyte Pharmaceuticals, Palo Alto Calif.) indicates that SURH-encoding nucleotide sequences are most abundantly transcribed in brain, and are also found in pancreas, breast, uterus and prostate. It must be noted that naturally occurring expression of SURH is not necessarily limited to these tissues.

The invention also encompasses SURH variants. A preferred SURH variant is one having at least 80% amino acid sequence similarity to the SURH amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO:1), a more preferred SURH variant is one having at least 90% amino acid sequence similarity to SEQ ID NO:1 and a most preferred SURH variant is one having at least 95% amino acid sequence similarity to SEQ ID NO:1.

The nucleic acid sequence encoding SURH was first identified in the cDNA, Incyte Clone 662342, through a computer-generated search for amino acid sequence alignments. The consensus nucleotide sequence, SEQ ID NO:2, disclosed herein (FIG. 1A-1M) encodes the amino acid sequence, SEQ ID NO:1, designated SURH. The consensus nucleotide sequence was extended and assembled from Incyte Clones 1270543 (BRAINOT09); 1332410 (PANCNOT07); 640147 (BRSTNOT03); 641239 (BRSTNOT03); 662342 (BRAINOT03); and 952281 (PANCNOT05) from the LIFESEQ™ database (Incyte Pharmaceuticals, Palo Alto Calif.).

The present invention is based in part on the chemical homology shown in FIGS. 2A-2H, among SURH (SEQ ID NO:1) a SUR and isoform from human (GI 1369844, unpublished), and SUR homologs from rat (GI 13115343; Aguilar-Bryan et al, supra) and hamster (GI 784874; Aguilar-Bryan et al, supra). The human isoform, the rat homolog and the hamster homolog have, respectively, 96%, 92% and 90% amino acid sequence identity to SURH.

The SURH protein sequence consists of 1580 amino acids. From the amino acid sequence alignments (FIGS. 2A-2H) and its hydrophobicity, SURH contains twelve potential membrane-spanning helices located at or near residues 31-51, 75-94, 135-155, 169-189, 306-323, 350-368, 448-469, 540-560, 576-596, 1002-1020, 1063-1076, 1154-1172, and 1276-1296. Furthermore, the protein contains two nucleotide binding fold (NBF) domains encompassing residues 695-893 (NBF-1) and 1356-1534 (NBF-2). The predicted topology of SURH consists of an extracellular amino terminus, nine transmembrane helices, cytosolic NBF-1, four transmembrane helices and cytosolic NBF-2 culminating at the cytosolic C-terminus. In addition, the SURH protein sequence contains 11 potential N-glycosylation sites. Four of these potential N-glycosylation sites, N₁₀, N₄₀₅, N₁₀₄₈ and N₁₀₅₈, reside on predicted extracellular-facing surface loops. As shown in FIG. 2E, the SURH amino acid sequence at positions 913 to 923, 925 to 943 and 952 to 960, in the region between NBF-1 and the tenth predicted transmembrane helix, have no identity with the corresponding amino acid residues in a human SUR isoform (GI 1369844).

The SURH Coding Sequences

The assembled nucleic acid (SEQ ID NO:2) and deduced amino acid (SEQ ID NO:1) sequences of SURH are shown in FIG. 1A-1M. In accordance with the invention, any nucleic acid sequence which encodes the amino acid sequence of SURH can be used to generate recombinant molecules which express SURH. In a specific embodiment described herein, a partial sequence encoding SURH was first isolated as Incyte Clone 662342 from a human brain tissue cDNA library (BRAINOT03).

As noted above, there is minimal amino acid sequence identity between a human SUR isoform (GI 1369844) and SURH between amino acids S₉₁₃ to R₉₆₀ of SEQ ID NO:1, which corresponds to nucleotides T₂₇₈₀ to A₂₉₂₃ of SEQ ID NO:2. Oligonucleotides complementary to this region of SEQ ID NO:2 are highly specific for the SURH of the present invention. Such oligonucleotides are useful for diagnostic and therapeutic applications specific to SURH.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that as a result of the degeneracy of the genetic code, a multitude of SURH-encoding nucleotide sequences, some bearing minimal homology to the nucleotide sequences of any known and naturally occurring gene, may be produced. The invention contemplates each and every possible variation of nucleotide sequence that could be made by selecting combinations based on possible codon choices. These combinations are made in accordance with the standard triplet genetic code as applied to the nucleotide sequence of naturally occurring SURH, and all such variations are to be considered as being specifically disclosed.

Although nucleotide sequences which encode SURH and its variants are preferably capable of hybridizing to the nucleotide sequence of the naturally occurring SURH under appropriately selected conditions of stringency, it may be advantageous to produce nucleotide sequences encoding SURH or its derivatives possessing a substantially different codon usage. Codons may be selected to increase the rate at which expression of the peptide occurs in a particular prokaryotic or eukaryotic expression host in accordance with the frequency with which particular codons are utilized by the host. Other reasons for substantially altering the nucleotide sequence encoding SURH and its derivatives without altering the encoded amino acid sequences include the production of RNA transcripts having more desirable properties, such as a greater half-life, than transcripts produced from the naturally occurring sequence.

It is now possible to produce a DNA sequence, or portions thereof, encoding a SURH and its derivatives entirely by synthetic chemistry, after which the synthetic gene may be inserted into any of the many available DNA vectors and cell systems using reagents that are well known in the art at the time of the filing of this application. Moreover, synthetic chemistry may be used to introduce mutations into a gene encoding SURH.

Also included within the scope of the present invention are polynucleotide sequences that are capable of hybridizing to the nucleotide sequences of FIGS. 1A-1M under various conditions of stringency. Hybridization conditions are based on the melting temperature (Tm) of the nucleic acid binding complex or probe, as taught in Berger and Kimmel (1987, Guide to Molecular Clonina Techniaues, Methods in Enzymology, Vol 152, Academic Press, San Diego Calif.) incorporated herein by reference, and may be used at a defined stringency.

Altered nucleic acid sequences encoding SURH which may be used in accordance with the invention include deletions, insertions or substitutions of different nucleotides resulting in a polynucleotide that encodes the same or a functionally equivalent SURH. The protein may also show deletions, insertions or substitutions of amino acid residues which produce a silent change and result in a functionally equivalent SURH. Deliberate amino acid substitutions may be made on the basis of similarity in polarity, charge, solubility, hydrophobicity, hydrophilicity, and/or the amphipathic nature of the residues as long as the biological activity of SURH is retained. For example, negatively charged amino acids include aspartic acid and glutamic acid; positively charged amino acids include lysine and arginine; and amino acids with uncharged polar head groups having similar hydrophilicity values include leucine, isoleucine, valine; glycine, alanine; asparagine, glutamine; serine, threonine phenylalanine, and tyrosine.

Included within the scope of the present invention are alleles of SURH. As used herein, an “allele” or “allelic sequence” is an alternative form of SURH. Alleles result from a mutation, ie, a change in the nucleic acid sequence, and generally produce altered mRNAs or polypeptides whose structure or function may or may not be altered. Any given gene may have none, one or many allelic forms. Common mutational changes which give rise to alleles are generally ascribed to natural deletions, additions or substitutions of amino acids. Each of these types of changes may occur alone, or in combination with the others, one or more times in a given sequence.

Methods for DNA sequencing are well known in the art and employ such enzymes as the Klenow fragment of DNA polymerase I, SEQUENASE® (US Biochemical Corp, Cleveland Ohio.)), Taq polymerase (Perkin Elmer, Norwalk Conn.), thermostable T7 polymerase (Amersham, Chicago Ill.), or combinations of recombinant polymerases and proofreading exonucleases such as the ELONGASE Amplification System marketed by Gibco BRL (Gaithersburg Md.). Preferably, the process is automated with machines such as the Hamilton Micro Lab 2200 (Hamilton, Reno Nev.), Peltier Thermal Cycler (PTC200; MJ Research, Watertown Mass.) and the ABI 377 DNA sequencers (Perkin Elmer).

Extending the Polynucleotide Sequence

The polynucleotide sequence encoding SURH may be extended utilizing partial nucleotide sequence and various methods known in the art to detect upstream sequences such as promoters and regulatory elements. Gobinda et al (1993; PCR Methods Applic 2:318-22) disclose “restriction-site” polymerase chain reaction (PCR) as a direct method which uses universal primers to retrieve unknown sequence adjacent to a known locus. First, genomic DNA is amplified in the presence of primer to a linker sequence and a primer specific to the known region. The amplified sequences are subjected to a second round of PCR with the same linker primer and another specific primer internal to the first one. Products of each round of PCR are transcribed with an appropriate RNA polymerase and sequenced using reverse transcriptase.

Inverse PCR can be used to amplify or extend sequences using divergent primers based on a known region (Triglia T et al (1988) Nucleic Acids Res 16:8186). The primers may be designed using OLIGO® 4.06 Primer Analysis Software (1992; National Biosciences Inc, Plymouth Minn.), or another appropriate program, to be 22-30 nucleotides in length, to have a GC content of 50% or more, and to anneal to the target sequence at temperatures about 68°-72° C. The method uses several restriction enzymes to generate a suitable fragment in the known region of a gene. The fragment is then circularized by intramolecular ligation and used as a PCR template.

Capture PCR (Lagerstrom M et al (1991) PCR Methods Applic 1:111-19) is a method for PCR amplification of DNA fragments adjacent to a known sequence in human and yeast artificial chromosome DNA. Capture PCR also requires multiple restriction enzyme digestions and ligations to place an engineered double-stranded sequence into an unknown portion of the DNA molecule before PCR.

Another method which may be used to retrieve unknown sequences is that of Parker JD et al (1991; Nucleic Acids Res 19:3055-60). Additionally, one can use PCR, nested primers and PromoterFinder libraries to walk in genomic DNA (PROMOTERFINDER Clontech (Palo Alto Calif.). This process avoids the need to screen libraries and is useful in finding intron/exon junctions.

Preferred libraries for screening for full length cDNAs are ones that have been size-selected to include larger cDNAs. Also, random primed libraries are preferred in that they will contain more sequences which contain the 5′ and upstream regions of genes. A randomly primed library may be particularly useful if an oligo d(T) library does not yield a full-length cDNA. Genomic libraries are useful for extension into the 5′ nontranslated regulatory region.

Capillary electrophoresis may be used to analyze the size or confirm the nucleotide sequence of sequencing or PCR products. Systems for rapid sequencing are available from Perkin Elmer, Beckman Instruments (Fullerton Calif.), and other companies. Capillary sequencing may employ flowable polymers for electrophoretic separation, four different fluorescent dyes (one for each nucleotide) which are laser activated, and detection of the emitted wavelengths by a charge coupled device camera. Output/light intensity is converted to electrical signal using appropriate software (eg. GENOTYPES and SEQUENCE NAVIGATOR from Perkin Elmer) and the entire process from loading of samples to computer analysis and electronic data display is computer controlled. Capillary electrophoresis is particularly suited to the sequencing of small pieces of DNA which might be present in limited amounts in a particular sample. The reproducible sequencing of up to 350 bp of M13 phage DNA in 30 min has been reported (Ruiz-Martinez MC et al (1993) Anal Chem 65:2851-8).

Expression of the Nucleotide Sequence

In accordance with the present invention, polynucleotide sequences which encode SURH, fragments of the polypeptide, fusion proteins or functional equivalents thereof may be used in recombinant DNA molecules that direct the expression of SURH in appropriate host cells. Due to the inherent degeneracy of the genetic code, other DNA sequences which encode substantially the same or a functionally equivalent amino acid sequence, may be used to clone and express SURH. As will be understood by those of skill in the art, it may be advantageous to produce SURH-encoding nucleotide sequences possessing non-naturally occurring codons. Codons preferred by a particular prokaryotic or eukaryotic host (Murray E et al (1989) Nuc Acids Res 17:477-508) can be selected, for example, to increase the rate of SURH expression or to produce recombinant RNA transcripts having desirable properties, such as a longer half-life, than transcripts produced from naturally occurring sequence.

The nucleotide sequences of the present invention can be engineered in order to alter a coding sequence of SURH for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to, alterations which modify the cloning, processing and/or expression of the gene product. For example, mutations may be introduced using techniques which are well known in the art, eg, site-directed mutagenesis to insert new restriction sites, to alter glycosylation patterns, to change codon preference, to produce splice variants, etc.

In another embodiment of the invention, a natural, modified or recombinant nucleotide sequence encoding SURH may be ligated to a heterologous sequence to encode a fusion protein. For example, for screening of peptide libraries for inhibitors of SURH activity, it may be useful to encode a chimeric SURH protein that is recognized by a commercially available antibody. A fusion protein may also be engineered to contain a cleavage site located between a SURH sequence and the heterologous protein sequence, so that the SURH may be cleaved and substantially purified away from the heterologous moiety.

In an alternate embodiment of the invention, the coding sequence for SURH may be synthesized, whole or in part, using chemical methods well known in the art (see Caruthers MH et al (1980) Nuc Acids Res Symp Ser 215-23, Horn T et al(1980) Nuc Acids Res Symp Ser 225-32, etc). Alternatively, the protein itself could be produced using chemical methods to synthesize a SURH amino acid sequence, whole or in part. For example, peptide synthesis can be performed using various solid-phase techniques (Roberge J Y et al (1995) Science 269:202-204) and automated synthesis may be achieved, for example, using the ABI 431A Peptide Synthesizer (Perkin Elmer) in accordance with the instructions provided by the manufacturer.

The newly synthesized peptide can be substantially purified by preparative high performance liquid chromatography (eg, Creighton (1983) Proteins, Structures and Molecular Principles, W H Freeman and Co, New York N.Y.). The composition of the synthetic peptides may be confirmed by amino acid analysis or sequencing (eg, the Edman degradation procedure; Creighton, supra). Additionally the amino acid sequence of SURH, or any part thereof, may be altered during direct synthesis and/or combined using chemical methods with sequences from other proteins, or any part thereof, to produce a variant polypeptide.

Expression Systems

In order to express a biologically active SURH, the nucleotide sequence encoding SURH or its functional equivalent is inserted into an appropriate expression vector, ie, a vector which contains the necessary elements for the transcription and translation of the inserted coding sequence.

Methods which are well known to those skilled in the art can be used to construct expression vectors containing a SURH coding sequence and appropriate transcriptional or translational controls. These methods include in vitro recombinant DNA techniques, synthetic techniques and in vivo recombination or genetic recombination. Such techniques are described in Sambrook et al (1989) Molecular Clonina, A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Press, Plainview N.Y. and Ausubel F M et al (1989) Current Protocols in Molecular Bioloay, John Wiley & Sons, New York N.Y.

A variety of expression vector/host systems may be utilized to contain and express a SURH coding sequence. These include but are not limited to microorganisms such as bacteria transformed with recombinant bacteriophage, plasmid or cosmid DNA expression vectors; yeast transformed with yeast expression vectors; insect cell systems infected with virus expression vectors (eg, baculovirus); plant cell systems transfected with virus expression vectors (eg, cauliflower mosaic virus, CaMV; tobacco mosaic virus, TMV) or transformed with bacterial expression vectors (eg, Ti or pBR322 plasmid); or animal cell systems.

The “control elements” or “regulatory sequences” of these systems vary in their strength and specificities and are those nontranslated regions of the vector, enhancers, promoters, and 3′ untranslated regions, which interact with host cellular proteins to carry out transcription and translation. Depending on the vector system and host utilized, any number of suitable transcription and translation elements, including constitutive and inducible promoters, may be used. For example, when cloning in bacterial systems, inducible promoters such as the hybrid lacZ promoter of the BLUESCRIPT phagemid (Stratagene, LaJolla Calif.) or PSPORT I (Gibco BRL) and ptrp-lac hybrids and the like may be used. The baculovirus polyhedrin promoter may be used in insect cells. Promoters or enhancers derived from the genomes of plant cells (eg, heat shock, RUBISCO; and storage protein genes) or from plant viruses (eg, viral promoters or leader sequences) may be cloned into the vector. In mammalian cell systems, promoters from the mammalian genes or from mammalian viruses are most appropriate. If it is necessary to generate a cell line that contains multiple copies of SURH, vectors based on SV40 or EBV may be used with an appropriate selectable marker.

In bacterial systems, a number of expression vectors may be selected depending upon the use intended for SURH. For example, when large quantities of SURH are needed for the induction of antibodies, vectors which direct high level expression of fusion proteins that are readily purified may be desirable. Such vectors include, but are not limited to, the multifunctional E. coli cloning and expression vectors such as BLUESCRIPT (Stratagene), in which the SURH coding sequence may be ligated into the vector in frame with sequences for the amino-terminal Met and the subsequent 7 residues of β-galactosidase so that a hybrid protein is produced; pIN vectors (Van Heeke & Schuster (1989) J Biol Chem 264:5503-5509); and the like. pGEX vectors (Promega, Madison Wis.) may also be used to express foreign polypeptides as fusion proteins with glutathione S-transferase (GST). In general, such fusion proteins are soluble and can easily be purified from lysed cells by adsorption to glutathione-agarose beads followed by elution in the presence of free glutathione. Proteins made in such systems are designed to include heparin, thrombin or factor XA protease cleavage sites so that the cloned polypeptide of interest can be released from the GST moiety at will.

In the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a number of vectors containing constitutive or inducible promoters such as alpha factor, alcohol oxidase and PGH may be used. For reviews, see Ausubel et al (supra) and Grant et al (1987) Methods in Enzymology 153:516-544.

In cases where plant expression vectors are used, the expression of a sequence encoding SURH may be driven by any of a number of promoters. For example, viral promoters such as the 35S and 19S promoters of CaMV (Brisson et al (1984) Nature 310:511-514) may be used alone or in combination with the omega leader sequence from TMV (Takamatsu et al (1987) EMBO J 6:307-311). Alternatively, plant promoters such as the small subunit of RUBISCO (Coruzzi et al (1984) EMBO J 3:1671-1680; Broglie et al (1984) Science 224:838-843); or heat shock promoters (Winter J and Sinibaldi RM (1991) Results Probl Cell Differ 17:85-105) may be used. These constructs can be introduced into plant cells by direct DNA transformation or pathogen-mediated transfection. For reviews of such techniques, see Hobbs S or Murry LE in McGraw Hill Yearbook of Science and Technology (1992) McGraw Hill New York N.Y., pp 191-196 or Weissbach and Weissbach (1988) Methods for Plant Molecular Bioloay, Academic Press, New York N.Y., pp 421-463.

An alternative expression system which could be used to express SURH is an insect system. In one such system, Autoarapha californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus (AcNPV) is used as a vector to express foreign genes in Scodoptera fruaiperda cells or in Trichollusia larvae. The SURH coding sequence may be cloned into a nonessential region of the virus, such as the polyhedrin gene, and placed under control of the polyhedrin promoter. Successful insertion of the SURH coding sequence will render the polyhedrin gene inactive and produce recombinant virus lacking coat protein. The recombinant viruses are then used to infect S. fruaiperda cells or Trichoplusia larvae in which SURH is expressed (Smith et al (1983) J Virol 46:584; Engelhard EK et al (1994) Proc Nat Acad Sci 91:3224-7).

In mammalian host cells, a number of viral-based expression systems may be utilized. In cases where an adenovirus is used as an expression vector, a coding sequence for SURH may be ligated into an adenovirus transcription/translation complex consisting of the late promoter and tripartite leader sequence. Insertion in a nonessential E1 or E3 region of the viral genome will result in a viable virus capable of expressing SURH in infected host cells (Logan and Shenk (1984) Proc Natl Acad Sci 81:3655-59). In addition, transcription enhancers, such as the rous sarcoma virus (RSV) enhancer, may be used to increase expression in mammalian host cells.

Specific initiation signals may also be required for efficient translation of a SURH sequence. These signals include the ATG initiation codon and adjacent sequences. In cases where nucleic acid encoding SURH, its initiation codon and upstream sequences are inserted into the appropriate expression vector, no additional translational control signals may be needed. However, in cases where only coding sequence, or a portion thereof, is inserted, exogenous translational control signals including the ATG initiation codon must be provided. Furthermore, the initiation codon must be in the correct reading frame to ensure translation of the entire insert. Exogenous translational elements and initiation codons can be of various origins, both natural and synthetic. The efficiency of expression may be enhanced by the inclusion of enhancers appropriate to the cell system in use (Scharf D et al (1994) Results Probl Cell Differ 20:125-62; Bittner et al (1987) Methods in Enzymol 153:516-544).

In addition, a host cell strain may be chosen for its ability to modulate the expression of the inserted sequences or to process the expressed protein in the desired fashion. Such modifications of the polypeptide include, but are not limited to, acetylation, carboxylation, glycosylation, phosphorylation, lipidation and acylation. Post-translational processing which cleaves a “prepro” form of the protein may also be important for correct insertion, folding and/or function. Different host cells such as CHO, HeLa, MDCK, 293, WI38, etc have specific cellular machinery and characteristic mechanisms for such post-translational activities and may be chosen to ensure the correct modification and processing of the introduced, foreign protein.

For long-term, high-yield production of recombinant proteins, stable expression is preferred. For example, cell lines which stably express SURH may be transformed using expression vectors which contain viral origins of replication or endogenous expression elements and a selectable marker gene. Following the introduction of the vector, cells may be allowed to grow for 1-2 days in an enriched media before they are switched to selective media. The purpose of the selectable marker is to confer resistance to selection, and its presence allows growth and recovery of cells which successfully express the introduced sequences. Resistant clumps of stably transformed cells can be proliferated using tissue culture techniques appropriate to the cell type.

Any number of selection systems may be used to recover transformed cell lines. These include, but are not limited to, the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (Wigler M et al (1977) Cell 11:223-32) and adenine phosphoribosyltransferase (Lowy I et al (1980) Cell 22:817-23) genes which can be employed in tk- or aprt- cells, respectively. Also, antimetabolite, antibiotic or herbicide resistance can be used as the basis for selection; for example, dhfr which confers resistance to methotrexate (Wigler M et al (1980) Proc Natl Acad Sci 77:3567-70); npt, which confers resistance to the aminoglycosides neomycin and G-418 (Colbere-Garapin F et al (1981) J Mol Biol 150:1-14) and als or pat, which confer resistance to chlorsulfuron and phosphinotricin acetyltransferase, respectively (Murry, supra). Additional selectable genes have been described, for example, trpB, which allows cells to utilize indole in place of tryptophan, or hisD, which allows cells to utilize histinol in place of histidine (Hartman SC and RC Mulligan (1988) Proc Natl Acad Sci 85:8047-51). Recently, the use of visible markers has gained popularity with such markers as anthocyanins, β glucuronidase and its substrate, GUS, and luciferase and its substrate, luciferin, being widely used not only to identify transformants, but also to quantify the amount of transient or stable protein expression attributable to a specific vector system (Rhodes Calif. et al (1995) Methods Mol Biol 55:121-131).

Identification of Transformants Containing the Polynucleotide Sequence

Although the presence/absence of marker gene expression suggests that the gene of interest is also present, its presence and expression should be confirmed. For example, if the SURH polynucleotide sequence is inserted within a marker gene sequence, recombinant cells containing SURH can be identified by the absence of marker gene function. Alternatively, a marker gene can be placed in tandem with a SURH sequence under the control of a single promoter. Expression of the marker gene in response to induction or selection usually indicates expression of the tandem SURH as well.

Alternatively, host cells which contain the coding sequence for SURH and express SURH may be identified by a variety of procedures known to those of skill in the art. These procedures include, but are not limited to, DNA-DNA or DNA-RNA hybridization and protein bioassay or immunoassay techniques which include membrane, solution, or chip based technologies for the detection and/or quantification of the nucleic acid or protein.

The presence of the polynucleotide sequence encoding SURH can be detected by DNA-DNA or DNA-RNA hybridization or amplification using probes, portions or fragments of SURH-encoding nucleotides. Nucleic acid amplification based assays involve the use of oligonucleotides or oligomers based on the SURH sequence to detect transformants containing SURH DNA or RNA. As used herein “oligonucleotides” or “oligomers” refer to a nucleic acid sequence of at least about 10 nucleotides and as many as about 60 nucleotides, preferably about 15 to 30 nucleotides, and more preferably about 20-25 nucleotides which can be used as a probe or amplimer.

A variety of protocols for detecting and measuring the expression of SURH, using either polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies specific for the protein are known in the art. Examples include enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), radioimmunoassay (RIA) and fluorescent activated cell sorting (FACS). A two-site, monoclonal-based immunoassay utilizing monoclonal antibodies reactive to two non-interfering epitopes on SURH is preferred, but a competitive binding assay may be employed. These and other assays are described, among other places, in Hampton R et al (1990, Serological Methods, a Laboratory Manual, APS Press, St Paul Minn.) and Maddox DE et al (1983, J Exp Med 158:1211).

A wide variety of labels and conjugation techniques are known by those skilled in the art and can be used in various nucleic acid and amino acid assays. Means for producing labeled hybridization or PCR probes for detecting sequences related to SURH include oligolabeling, nick translation, end-labeling or PCR amplification using a labeled nucleotide. Alternatively, the SURH sequence, or any portion of it, may be cloned into a vector for the production of an mRNA probe. Such vectors are known in the art, are commercially available, and may be used to synthesize RNA probes in vitro by addition of an appropriate RNA polymerase such as T7, T3 or SP6 and labeled nucleotides.

A number of companies such as Pharmacia Biotech (Piscataway N.J.), Promega (Madison Wis.), and US Biochemical Corp (Cleveland Ohio.) supply commercial kits and protocols for these procedures. Suitable reporter molecules or labels include those radionuclides, enzymes, fluorescent, chemiluminescent, or chromogenic agents as well as substrates, cofactors, inhibitors, magnetic particles and the like. Patents teaching the use of such labels include U.S. Pat. No. 3,817,837; 3,850,752; 3,939,350; 3,996,345; 4,277,437; 4,275,149 and 4,366,241. Also, recombinant immunoglobulins may be produced as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,816,567 incorporated herein by reference.

Purification of SURH

Host cells transformed with a SURH-encoding nucleotide sequence may be cultured under conditions suitable for the expression and recovery of the encoded protein from cell culture. The protein produced by a recombinant cell may be contained intracellularly or secreted depending on the sequence and/or the vector used. As will be understood by those of skill in the art, expression vectors containing SURH can be designed for efficient production and proper transmembrane insertion of SURH into a prokaryotic or eukaryotic cell membrane. Other recombinant constructions may join SURH to nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide domain which will facilitate purification of soluble proteins (Kroll D J et al (1993) DNA Cell Biol 12:441-53; cf discussion of vectors infra containing fusion proteins).

SURH may also be expressed as a recombinant protein with one or more additional polypeptide domains added to facilitate protein purification. Such purification facilitating domains include, but are not limited to, metal chelating peptides such as histidine-tryptophan modules that allow purification on immobilized metals, protein A domains that allow purification on immobilized immunoglobulin, and the domain utilized in the FLAGS extension/affinity purification system (Immunex Corp, Seattle Wash.). The inclusion of cleavable linker sequences such as Factor XA or enterokinase (Invitrogen, San Diego Calif.) between the purification domain and SURH is useful to facilitate purification. One such expression vector provides for expression of a fusion protein compromising an SURH and contains nucleic acid encoding 6 histidine residues followed by thioredoxin and an enterokinase cleavage site. The histidine residues facilitate purification on IMIAC (immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography as described in Porath et al (1992) Protein Expression and Purification 3:263-281) while the enterokinase cleavage site provides a means for purifying the protein from the fusion protein.

In addition to recombinant production, fragments of SURH may be produced by direct peptide synthesis using solid-phase techniques (cf Stewart et al (1969) Solid-Phase Peptide Synthesis, W H Freeman Co, San Francisco; Merrifield J (1963) J Am Chem Soc 85:2149-2154). In vitro protein synthesis may be performed using manual techniques or by automation. Automated synthesis may be achieved, for example, using Applied Biosystems 431A Peptide Synthesizer (Perkin Elmer, Foster City Calif.) in accordance with the instructions provided by the manufacturer. Various fragments of SURH may be chemically synthesized separately and combined using chemical methods to produce the full length molecule.

Uses of SURH

The rationale for the use of polypeptide and polynucleotide sequences disclosed herein is based in part on the chemical and structural homology among SURH and a human isoform, a rat homolog and a hamster homolog of SUR.

The SUR/K_(ATP) channel complex plays a role in neurosecretion and is implicated in the response of the brain to hyper- and hypoglycemia and ischemia. In the pancreas, it is a critical link between blood glucose concentration and insulin secretion. In cardiac cells, action potentials are modulated by sulfonylurea (SU) compounds binding to SURs. Accordingly, SURH may be used in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and conditions such as, but not limited to, type II diabetes (NIDDM), hyper- and hypoglycemia (including PHHI), cardiac impulse disorders (such as arrhythmias and tachycardias), and other disorders relating to SUR and the SUR/K_(ATP) channel complex.

Some SU therapeutics, while highly effective in the treatment of NIDDM and related disorders, have adverse side-effects. SUs can cause severe and prolonged hypoglycemia, requiring massive glucose infusions and hospitalization for several days. In addition, some SUs can cause skin lesions, including drug-induced erythroderma (exfoliative dermatitis). The isolated SURH protein or its fragments may therefore be useful as a target in drug discovery programs to screen for novel therapeutic molecules with, for example, more desirable binding characteristics, more efficacious metabolic lifetimes, or fewer or less debilitating side-effects than conventional SU therapeutics.

SURH or its fragments may be used to identify other specific molecules with which it binds such as agonists or antagonists.

SURH-specific antibodies are useful for the diagnosis and treatment of conditions and diseases associated with expression of the polypeptides. Antibodies specifically recognizing SURH may be used to quantitate SURH for diagnostic purposes. Therapeutic antibodies may be used to block or modify the interactions between SUs and SURH, or SURH and K_(ATP) channel, in order to treat diseases or conditions associated with SURH and/or the K_(ATP) channel.

In some instances it may be advantageous to suppress SURH expression. Expression of mutant SURH sequences may be suppressed by administration of SURH antisense oligonucleotides.

The SURH nucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:2 can be incorporated into effective eukaryotic expression vectors and directly administered into somatic cells for gene therapy. In like manner, RNA transcripts produced in vitro may be encapsulated in and administered via liposomes. Such vectors and transcripts may function transiently or may be incorporated into the host chromosomal DNA for longer term expression.

In vivo delivery of genetic constructs into subjects is developed to the point of targeting specific cell types. The delivery to specific cells has been accomplished, for instance, by complexing nucleic acids with proteinous ligands that recognize cell specific receptors which mediate uptake (cf Wu GY et al (1991) J Biol Chem 266:14338-42). Alternatively, recombinant nucleic acid constructs may be injected directly for local uptake and integration (Jiao S et al (1992) Human Gene Therapy 3:21-33).

SURH Antibodies

SURH-specific antibodies are useful for the diagnosis of conditions and diseases associated with expression of SURH. Such antibodies may include, but are not limited to, polyclonal, monocional, chimeric, single chain, Fab fragments and fragments produced by a Fab expression library. Neutralizing antibodies, ie, those which inhibit dimer formation, are especially preferred for diagnostics and therapeutics.

SURH for antibody induction does not require biological activity; however, the protein fragment, or oligopeptide must be antigenic. Peptides used to induce specific antibodies may have an amino acid sequence consisting of at least five amino acids, preferably at least 10 amino acids. Preferably, they should mimic a portion of the amino acid sequence of the natural protein and may contain the entire amino acid sequence of a small, naturally occurring molecule. Short stretches of SURH amino acids may be fused with those of another protein such as keyhole limpet hemocyanin and antibody produced against the chimeric molecule. Procedures well known in the art can be used for the production of antibodies to SURH.

For the production of antibodies, various hosts including goats, rabbits, rats, mice, etc may be immunized by injection with SURH or any portion, fragment or oligopeptide which retains immunogenic properties. Depending on the host species, various adjuvants may be used to increase immunological response. Such adjuvants include but are not limited to, Freund's, mineral gels such as aluminum hydroxide, and surface active substances such as lysolecithin, pluronic polyols, polyanions, peptides, oil emulsions, keyhole limpet hemocyanin, and dinitrophenol. BCG (bacilli Calmette-Guerin) and Corynebacterium parvum are potentially useful human adjuvants.

Monoclonal antibodies to SURH may be prepared using any technique which provides for the production of antibody molecules by continuous cell lines in culture. These include but are not limited to the hybridoma technique originally described by Koehler and Milstein (1975 Nature 256:495-497), the human B-cell hybridoma technique (Kosbor et al (1983) Immunol Today 4:72; Cote et al (1983) Proc Natl Acad Sci 80:2026-2030) and the EBV-hybridoma technique (Cole et al (1985) Monoclonal Antibodies and Cancer Therapy, Alan R Liss Inc, New York N.Y., pp 77-96).

In addition, techniques developed for the production of “chimeric antibodies”, the splicing of mouse antibody genes to human antibody genes to obtain a molecule with appropriate antigen specificity and biological activity can be used (Morrison et al (1984) Proc Natl Acad Sci 81:6851-6855; Neuberger et al (1984) Nature 312:604-608; Takeda et al (1985) Nature 314:452-454). Alternatively, techniques described for the production of single chain antibodies (U.S. Pat. No. 4,946,778) can be adapted to produce SURH-specific single chain antibodies

Antibodies may also be produced by inducing in vivo production in the lymphocyte population or by screening recombinant immunoglobulin libraries or panels of highly specific binding reagents as disclosed in Orlandi et al (1989, Proc Natl Acad Sci 86: 3833-3837), and Winter G and Milstein C (1991; Nature 349:293-299).

Antibody fragments which contain specific binding sites for SURH may also be generated. For example, such fragments include, but are not limited to, the F(ab′)2 fragments which can be produced by pepsin digestion of the antibody molecule and the Fab fragments which can be generated by reducing the disulfide bridges of the F(ab′)2 fragments. Alternatively, Fab expression libraries may be constructed to allow rapid and easy identification of monoclonal Fab fragments with the desired specificity (Huse W D et al (1989) Science 256:1275-1281).

A variety of protocols for competitive binding or immunoradiometric assays using either polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies with established specificities are well known in the art. Such immunoassays typically involve the formation of complexes between SURH and its specific antibody and the measurement of complex formation. A two-site, monoclonal-based immunoassay utilizing monoclonal antibodies reactive to two noninterfering epitopes on a specific SURH protein is preferred, but a competitive binding assay may also be employed. These assays are described in Maddox DE et al (1983, J Exp Med 158:1211).

Diagnostic Assays Using SURH Specific Antibodies

Particular SURH antibodies are useful for the diagnosis of conditions or diseases characterized by expression of SURH or in assays to monitor patients being treated with SURH, agonists or inhibitors. Diagnostic assays for SURH include methods utilizing the antibody and a label to detect SURH in human body fluids or extracts of cells or tissues. The polypeptides and antibodies of the present invention may be used with or without modification. Frequently, the polypeptides and antibodies will be labeled by joining them, either covalently or noncovalently, with a reporter molecule. A wide variety of reporter molecules are known, several of which were described above.

A variety of protocols for measuring SURH, using either polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies specific for the respective protein are known in the art. Examples include enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), radioimmunoassay (RIA) and fluorescent activated cell sorting (FACS). A two-site, monoclonal-based immunoassay utilizing monoclonal antibodies reactive to two non-interfering epitopes on SURH is preferred, but a competitive binding assay may be employed. These assays are described, among other places, in Maddox, DE et al (1983, J Exp Med 158:1211).

In order to provide a basis for diagnosis, normal or standard values for SURH expression must be established. This is accomplished by combining body fluids or cell extracts taken from normal subjects, either animal or human, with antibody to SURH under conditions suitable for complex formation which are well known in the art. The amount of standard complex formation may be quantified by comparing various artificial membranes containing known quantities of SURH with both control and disease samples from biopsied tissues. Then, standard values obtained from normal samples may be compared with values obtained from samples from subjects potentially affected by disease. Deviation between standard and subject values establishes the presence of disease state.

Drug Screening

SURH, its catalytic or immunogenic fragments or oligopeptides thereof, can be used for screening therapeutic compounds in any of a variety of drug screening techniques. The fragment employed in such a test may be free in solution, affixed to a solid support, borne on a cell surface, or located intracellularly. The formation of binding complexes, between SURH and the agent being tested, may be measured.

Another technique for drug screening which may be used for high throughput screening of compounds having suitable binding affinity to the SURH is described in detail in “Determination of Amino Acid Sequence Antigenicity” by Geysen H N, WO Application 84/03564, published on Sep. 13, 1984, and incorporated herein by reference. In summary, large numbers of different small peptide test compounds are synthesized on a solid substrate, such as plastic pins or some other surface. The peptide test compounds are reacted with fragments of SURH and washed. Bound SURH is then detected by methods well known in the art. Substantially purified SURH can also be coated directly onto plates for use in the aforementioned drug screening techniques. Alternatively, non-neutralizing antibodies can be used to capture the peptide and immobilize it on a solid support.

This invention also contemplates the use of competitive drug screening assays in which neutralizing antibodies capable of binding SURH specifically compete with a test compound for binding SURH. In this manner, the antibodies can be used to detect the presence of any peptide which shares one or more antigenic determinants with SURH.

Uses of the Polynucleotide Encoding SURH

A polynucleotide encoding SURH, or any part thereof, may be used for diagnostic and/or therapeutic purposes. For diagnostic purposes, the SURH of this invention may be used to detect and quantitate gene expressio n in biopsied tissues in which expression of SURH may be implicated. The diagnostic assay is useful to distinguish between absence, presence, and excess expression of SURH and to monitor regulation of SURH levels during therapeutic intervention. Included in the scope of the invention are oligonucleotide sequences, antisense RNA and DNA molecules, and PNAs.

Another aspect of the subject invention is to provide for hybridization or PCR probes which are capable of detecting polynucleotide sequences, including genomic sequences, encoding SURH or closely related molecules. The specificity of the probe, whether it is made from a highly specific region, eg, 10 unique nucleotides in the 5′ regulatory region, or a less specific region, eg, especially in the 3′ region, and the stringency of the hybridization or amplification (maximal, high, intermediate or low) will determine whether the probe identifies only naturally occurring SURH, alleles or related sequences.

Probes may also be used for the detection of related sequences and should preferably contain at least 50% of the nucleotides from any of these SURH encoding sequences. The hybridization probes of the subject invention may be derived from the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:2 or from genomic sequence including promoter, enhancer elements and introns of the naturally occurring SURH. Hybridization probes may be labeled by a variety of reporter groups, including radionuclides such as ³²p or ³⁵S, or enzymatic labels such as alkaline phosphatase coupled to the probe via avidin/biotin coupling systems, and the like.

Other means for producing specific hybridization probes for SURH DNAs include the cloning of nucleic acid sequences encoding SURH or SURH derivatives into vectors for the production of mRNA probes. Such vectors are known in the art and are commercially available and may be used to synthesize RNA probes in vitro by means of the addition of the appropriate RNA polymerase as T7 or SP6 RNA polymerase and the appropriate radioactively labeled nucleotides.

Diagnostic Use

Polynucleotide sequences encoding SURH may be used for the diagnosis of conditions or diseases with which the expression of SURH is associated. For example, polynucleotide sequences encoding SURH may be used in hybridization or PCR assays of fluids or tissues from biopsies to detect SURH expression. The form of such qualitative or quantitative methods may include Southern or northern analysis, dot blot or other membrane-based technologies; PCR technologies; dip stick, pin, chip and ELISA technologies. All of these techniques are well known in the art and are the basis of many commercially available diagnostic kits.

The SURH nucleotide sequence disclosed herein provides the basis for assays that detect activation or induction associated with inflammation or disease. The SURH nucleotide sequence may be labeled by methods known in the art and added to a fluid or tissue sample from a patient under conditions suitable for the formation of hybridization complexes. After an incubation period, the sample is washed with a compatible fluid which optionally contains a dye (or other label requiring a developer) if the nucleotide has been labeled with an enzyme. After the compatible fluid is rinsed off, the dye is quantitated and compared with a standard. If the amount of dye in the biopsied or extracted sample is significantly elevated over that of a comparable control sample, the nucleotide sequence has hybridized with nucleotide sequences in the sample, and the presence of elevated levels of SURH nucleotide sequences in the sample indicates the presence of the associated inflammation and/or disease.

Such assays may also be used to evaluate the efficacy of a particular therapeutic treatment regime in animal studies, in clinical trials, or in monitoring the treatment of an individual patient. In order to provide a basis for the diagnosis of disease, a normal or standard profile for SURH expression must be established. This is accomplished by combining body fluids or cell extracts taken from normal subjects, either animal or human, with SURH, or a portion thereof, under conditions suitable for hybridization or amplification. Standard hybridization may be quantified by comparing the values obtained for normal subjects with a dilution series of SURH run in the same experiment where a known amount of substantially purified SURH is used. Standard values obtained from normal samples may be compared with values obtained from samples from patients afflicted with SURH-associated diseases. Deviation between standard and subject values is used to establish the presence of disease.

Once disease is established, a therapeutic agent is administered and a treatment profile is generated. Such assays may be repeated on a regular basis to evaluate whether the values in the profile progress toward or return to the normal or standard pattern. Successive treatment profiles may be used to show the efficacy of treatment over a period of several days or several months.

Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,683,195 and 4,965,188 provides additional uses for oligonucleotides based upon the SURH sequence. Such oligomers are generally chemically synthesized, but they may be generated enzymatically or produced from a recombinant source. Oligomers generally comprise two nucleotide sequences, one with sense orientation (5′→3′) and one with antisense (3′←5′), employed under optimized conditions for identification of a specific gene or condition. The same two oligomers, nested sets of oligomers, or even a degenerate pool of oligomers may be employed under less stringent conditions for detection and/or quantitation of closely related DNA or RNA sequences.

Additionally, methods which may be used to quantitate the expression of a particular molecule include radiolabeling (Melby PC et al 1993 J Immunol Methods 159:235-44) or biotinylating (Duplaa C et al 1993 Anal Biochem 229-36) nucleotides, coamplification of a control nucleic acid, and standard curves onto which the experimental results are interpolated. Quantitation of multiple samples may be speeded up by running the assay in an ELISA format where the oligomer of interest is presented in various dilutions and a spectrophotometric or calorimetric response gives rapid quantitation. A definitive diagnosis of this type may allow health professionals to begin aggressive treatment and prevent further worsening of the condition. Similarly, further assays can be used to monitor the progress of a patient during treatment. Furthermore, the nucleotide sequences disclosed herein may be used in molecular biology techniques that have not yet been developed, provided the new techniques rely on properties of nucleotide sequences that are currently known such as the triplet genetic code, specific base pair interactions, and the like.

Therapeutic Use

Based upon its homology to the genes encoding SURs and its expression profile, the SURH polynucleotide disclosed herein may provide the basis for the design of molecules for the treatment of diseases such as NIDDM, PHHI, and other diseases associated with the SUR and/or the K_(ATP) channel.

Expression vectors derived from retroviruses, adenovirus, herpes or vaccinia viruses, or from various bacterial plasmids, may be used for delivery of nucleotide sequences to the targeted organ, tissue or cell population. Methods which are well known to those skilled in the art can be used to construct recombinant vectors which will express antisense SURH. See, for example, the techniques described in Sambrook et al (supra) and Ausubel et al (supra).

The polynucleotides comprising full length cDNA sequence and/or its regulatory elements enable researchers to use SURH as an investigative tool in sense (Youssoufian H and HF Lodish 1993 Mol Cell Biol 13:98-104) or antisense (Eguchi et al (1991) Annu Rev Biochem 60:631-652) regulation of gene function. Such technology is now well known in the art, and sense or antisense oligomers, or larger fragments, can be designed from various locations along the coding or control regions.

Genes encoding SURH can be turned off by transfecting a cell or tissue with expression vectors which express high levels of a desired SURH nucleotide fragment. Such constructs can flood cells with untranslatable sense or antisense sequences. Even in the absence of integration into the DNA, such vectors may continue to transcribe RNA molecules until all copies are disabled by endogenous nucleases. Transient expression may last for a month or more with a non-replicating vector (Mettler I, personal communication) and even longer if appropriate replication elements are part of the vector system.

As mentioned above, modifications of gene expression can be obtained by designing antisense molecules, DNA, RNA or PNA, to the control regions of SURH, ie, the promoters, enhancers, and introns. Oligonucleotides derived from the transcription initiation site, eg, between −10 and +10 regions of the leader sequence, are preferred. The antisense molecules may also be designed to block translation of mRNA by preventing the transcript from binding to ribosomes. Similarly, inhibition can be achieved using “triple helix” base-pairing methodology. Triple helix pairing compromises the ability of the double helix to open sufficiently for the binding of polymerases, transcription factors, or regulatory molecules. Recent therapeutic advances using triplex DNA were reviewed by Gee JE et al (In: Huber BE and BI Carr (1994) Molecular and Immunologic Approaches, Futura Publishing Co, Mt Kisco N.Y.).

Ribozymes are enzymatic RNA molecules capable of catalyzing the specific cleavage of RNA. The mechanism of ribozyme action involves sequence-specific hybridization of the ribozyme molecule to complementary target RNA, followed by endonucleolytic cleavage. Within the scope of the invention are engineered hammerhead motif ribozyme molecules that can specifically and efficiently catalyze endonucleolytic cleavage of RNA encoding SURH.

Specific ribozyme cleavage sites within any potential RNA target are initially identified by scanning the target molecule for ribozyme cleavage sites which include the following sequences, GUA, GUU and GUC. Once identified, short RNA sequences of between 15 and 20 ribonucleotides corresponding to the region of the target gene containing the cleavage site may be evaluated for secondary structural features which may render the oligonucleotide inoperable. The suitability of candidate targets may also be evaluated by testing accessibility to hybridization with complementary oligonucleotides using ribonuclease protection assays.

Antisense molecules and ribozymes of the invention may be prepared by any method known in the art for the synthesis of RNA molecules. These include techniques for chemically synthesizing oligonucleotides such as solid phase phosphoramidite chemical synthesis. Alternatively, RNA molecules may be generated by in vitro and in vivo transcription of DNA sequences encoding SURH. Such DNA sequences may be incorporated into a wide variety of vectors with suitable RNA polymerase promoters such as T7 or SP6. Alternatively, antisense cDNA constructs that synthesize antisense RNA constitutively or inducibly can be introduced into cell lines, cells or tissues.

RNA molecules may be modified to increase intracellular stability and half-life. Possible modifications include, but are not limited to, the addition of flanking sequences at the 5′ and/or 3′ ends of the molecule or the use of phosphorothioate or 2′ O-methyl rather than phosphodiesterase linkages within the backbone of the molecule. This concept is inherent in the production of PNAs and can be extended in all of these molecules by the inclusion of nontraditional bases such as inosine, queosine and wybutosine as well as acetyl-, methyl-, thio- and similarly modified forms of adenine, cytidine, guanine, thymine, and uridine which are not as easily recognized by endogenous endonucleases.

Methods for introducing vectors into cells or tissues include those methods discussed infra and which are equally suitable for in vivo, in vitro and ex vivo therapy. For ex vivo therapy, vectors are introduced into stem cells taken from the patient and clonally propagated for autologous transplant back into that same patient as presented in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,399,493 and 5,437,994, disclosed herein by reference. Delivery by transfection and by liposome are quite well known in the art.

Furthermore, the nucleotide sequences for SURH disclosed herein may be used in molecular biology techniques that have not yet been developed, provided the new techniques rely on properties of nucleotide sequences that are currently known, including but not limited to such properties as the triplet genetic code and specific base pair interactions.

Detection and Mapping of Related Polynucleotide Sequences

The nucleic acid sequence for SURH can also be used to generate hybridization probes for mapping the naturally occurring genomic sequence. The sequence may be mapped to a particular chromosome or to a specific region of the chromosome using well known techniques. These include in situ hybridization to chromosomal spreads, flow-sorted chromosomal preparations, or artificial chromosome constructions such as yeast artificial chromosomes, bacterial artificial chromosomes, bacterial P1 constructions or single chromosome cDNA libraries as reviewed in Price C M (1993; Blood Rev 7:127-34) and Trask B J (1991; Trends Genet 7:149-54).

The technique of fluorescent in situ hybridization of chromosome spreads has been described, among other places, in Verma et al (1988) Human Chromosomes: A Manual of Basic Techniques, Pergamon Press, New York N.Y. Fluorescent in situ hybridization of chromosomal preparations and other physical chromosome mapping techniques may be correlated with additional genetic map data. Examples of genetic map data can be found in the 1994 Genome Issue of Science (265:1981f). Correlation between the location of a SURH on a physical chromosomal map and a specific disease (or predisposition to a specific disease) may help delimit the region of DNA associated with that genetic disease. The nucleotide sequences of the subject invention may be used to detect differences in gene sequences between normal, carrier or affected individuals.

In situ hybridization of chromosomal preparations and physical mapping techniques such as linkage analysis using established chromosomal markers may be used for extending genetic maps. For example, an STS based map of the human genome was recently published by the Whitehead-MIT Center for Genomic Research (Hudson T J et al (1995) Science 270:1945-1954). Often the placement of a gene on the chromosome of another mammalian species such as mouse (Whitehead Institute/MIT Center for Genome Research, Genetic Map of the Mouse, Database Release 10, Apr. 28, 1995) may reveal associated markers even if the number or arm of a particular human chromosome is not known. New sequences can be assigned to chromosomal arms, or parts thereof, by physical mapping. This provides valuable information to investigators searching for disease genes using positional cloning or other gene discovery techniques. Once a disease or syndrome, such as ataxia telangiectasia (AT), has been crudely localized by genetic linkage to a particular genomic region, for example, AT to 11q22-23 (Gatti et al (1988) Nature 336:577-580), any sequences mapping to that area may represent associated or regulatory genes for further investigation. The nucleotide sequence of the subject invention may also be used to detect differences in the chromosomal location due to translocation, inversion, etc. among normal, carrier or affected individuals.

Pharmaceutical Compositions

The present invention relates to pharmaceutical compositions which may comprise nucleotides, proteins, antibodies, agonists, antagonists, or inhibitors, alone or in combination with at least one other agent, such as stabilizing compound, which may be administered in any sterile, biocompatible pharmaceutical carrier, including, but not limited to, saline, buffered saline, dextrose, and water. Any of these molecules can be administered to a patient alone, or in combination with other agents, drugs or hormones, in pharmaceutical compositions where it is mixed with excipient(s) or pharmaceutically acceptable carriers. In one embodiment of the present invention, the pharmaceutically acceptable carrier is pharmaceutically inert.

Administration of Pharmaceutical Compositions

Administration of pharmaceutical compositions is accomplished orally or parenterally. Methods of parenteral delivery include topical, intra-arterial (directly to the tumor), intramuscular, subcutaneous, intramedullary, intrathecal, intraventricular, intravenous, intraperitoneal, or intranasal administration. In addition to the active ingredients, these pharmaceutical compositions may contain suitable pharmaceutically acceptable carriers comprising excipients and auxiliaries which facilitate processing of the active compounds into preparations which can be used pharmaceutically. Further details on techniques for formulation and administration may be found in the latest edition of “Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences” (Maack Publishing Co, Easton Pa.).

Pharmaceutical compositions for oral administration can be formulated using pharmaceutically acceptable carriers well known in the art in dosages suitable for oral administration. Such carriers enable the pharmaceutical compositions to be formulated as tablets, pills, dragees, capsules, liquids, gels, syrups, slurries, suspensions and the like, for ingestion by the patient.

Pharmaceutical preparations for oral use can be obtained through combination of active compounds with solid excipient, optionally grinding a resulting mixture, and processing the mixture of granules, after adding suitable auxiliaries, if desired, to obtain tablets or dragee cores. Suitable excipients are carbohydrate or protein fillers such as sugars, including lactose, sucrose, mannitol, or sorbitol; starch from corn, wheat, rice, potato, or other plants; cellulose such as methyl cellulose, hydroxypropylmethyl-cellulose, or sodium carboxymethylcellulose; and gums including arabic and tragacanth; and proteins such as gelatin and collagen. If desired, disintegrating or solubilizing agents may be added, such as the cross-linked polyvinyl pyrrolidone, agar, alginic acid, or a salt thereof, such as sodium alginate.

Dragee cores are provided with suitable coatings such as concentrated sugar solutions, which may also contain gum arabic, talc, polyvinylpyrrolidone, carbopol gel, polyethylene glycol, and/or titanium dioxide, lacquer solutions, and suitable organic solvents or solvent mixtures. Dyestuffs or pigments may be added to the tablets or dragee coatings for product identification or to characterize the quantity of active compound, ie, dosage.

Pharmaceutical preparations which can be used orally include push-fit capsules made of gelatin, as well as soft, sealed capsules made of gelatin and a coating such as glycerol or sorbitol. Push-fit capsules can contain active ingredients mixed with a filler or binders such as lactose or starches, lubricants such as talc or magnesium stearate, and, optionally, stabilizers. In soft capsules, the active compounds may be dissolved or suspended in suitable liquids, such as fatty oils, liquid paraffin, or liquid polyethylene glycol with or without stabilizers.

Pharmaceutical formulations for parenteral administration include aqueous solutions of active compounds. For injection, the pharmaceutical compositions of the invention may be formulated in aqueous solutions, preferably in physiologically compatible buffers such as Hanks' solution, Ringer's solution, or physiologically buffered saline. Aqueous injection suspensions may contain substances which increase the viscosity of the suspension, such as sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, sorbitol, or dextran. Additionally, suspensions of the active compounds may be prepared as appropriate oily injection suspensions. Suitable lipophilic solvents or vehicles include fatty oils such as sesame oil, or synthetic fatty acid esters, such as ethyl oleate or triglycerides, or liposomes. Optionally, the suspension may also contain suitable stabilizers or agents which increase the solubility of the compounds to allow for the preparation of highly concentrated solutions.

For topical or nasal administration, penetrants appropriate to the particular barrier to be permeated are used in the formulation. Such penetrants are generally known in the art.

Manufacture and Storage

The pharmaceutical compositions of the present invention may be manufactured in a manner that is known in the art, eg, by means of conventional mixing, dissolving, granulating, dragee-making, levigating, emulsifying, encapsulating, entrapping or lyophilizing processes.

The pharmaceutical composition may be provided as a salt and can be formed with many acids, including but not limited to hydrochloric, sulfuric, acetic, lactic, tartaric, malic, succinic, etc. Salts tend to be more soluble in aqueous or other protonic solvents that are the corresponding free base forms. In other cases, the preferred preparation may be a lyophilized powder in 1 mM-50 mM histidine, 0.1%-2% sucrose, 2%-7% mannitol at a pH range of 4.5 to 5.5 that is combined with buffer prior to use.

After pharmaceutical compositions comprising a compound of the invention formulated in acceptable carrier have been prepared, they can be placed in an appropriate container and labeled for treatment of an indicated condition. For administration of SURH, such labeling would include amount, frequency and method of administration.

Therapeutically Effective Dose

Pharmaceutical compositions suitable for use in the present invention include compositions wherein the active ingredients are contained in an effective amount to achieve the intended purpose. The determination of an effective dose is well within the capability of those skilled in the art.

For any compound, the therapeutically effective dose can be estimated initially either in cell culture assays, eg, of neoplastic cells, or in animal models, usually mice, rabbits, dogs, or pigs. The animal model is also used to achieve a desirable concentration range and route of administration. Such information can then be used to determine useful doses and routes for administration in humans.

A therapeutically effective dose refers to that amount of protein or its antibodies, antagonists, or inhibitors which ameliorate the symptoms or condition. Therapeutic efficacy and toxicity of such compounds can be determined by standard pharmaceutical procedures in cell cultures or experimental animals, eg, ED50 (the dose therapeutically effective in 50% of the population) and LD50 (the dose lethal to 50% of the population). The dose ratio between therapeutic and toxic effects is the therapeutic index, and it can be expressed as the ratio, ED50/LD50. Pharmaceutical compositions which exhibit large therapeutic indices are preferred. The data obtained from cell culture assays and animal studies is used in formulating a range of dosage for human use. The dosage of such compounds lies preferably within a range of circulating concentrations that include the ED50 with little or no toxicity. The dosage varies within this range depending upon the dosage form employed, sensitivity of the patient, and the route of administration.

The exact dosage is chosen by the individual physician in view of the patient to be treated. Dosage and administration are adjusted to provide sufficient levels of the active moiety or to maintain the desired effect. Additional factors which may be taken into account include the severity of the disease state, eg, tumor size and location; age, weight and gender of the patient; diet, time and frequency of administration, drug combination(s), reaction sensitivities, and tolerance/response to therapy. Long acting pharmaceutical compositions might be administered every 3 to 4 days, every week, or once every two weeks depending on half-life and clearance rate of the particular formulation.

Normal dosage amounts may vary from 0.1 to 100,000 micrograms, up to a total dose of about 1 g, depending upon the route of administration. Guidance as to particular dosages and methods of delivery is provided in the literature. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,657,760; 5,206,344; or 5,225,212. Those skilled in the art will employ different formulations for nucleotides than for proteins or their inhibitors. Similarly, delivery of polynucleotides or polypeptides will be specific to particular cells, conditions, locations, etc.

The examples below are provided to illustrate the subject invention and are not included for the purpose of limiting the invention.

EXAMPLES I CDNA Library Construction

The BRAINOT03 cDNA library was constructed from normal brain tissue removed from a 26 year old male. The frozen tissue was homogenized and lysed using a Brinkmann Homogenizer Polytron PT-3000 (Brinkmann Instruments, Westbury N.J.). The reagents and extraction procedures were used as supplied in the Stratagene RNA Isolation Kit (Cat. # 200345; Stratagene). The lysate was centrifuged over a 5.7 M CsCl cushion using a Beckman SW28 rotor in a Beckman L8-70M Ultracentrifuge (Beckman Instruments) for 18 hours at 25,000 rpm at ambient temperature. The RNA was extracted once with phenol chloroform pH 8.0, once with acid phenol pH 4.0, precipitated using 0.3 M sodium acetate and 2.5 volumes of ethanol, resuspended in water and DNase treated for 15 min at 37° C. The RNA was isolated using the OLIGOTEX kit (QIAGEN Inc, Chatsworth Calif.) and used to construct the cDNA library.

The RNA was handled according to the recommended protocols in the SuperScript Plasmid System for cDNA Synthesis and Plasmid Cloning (Cat. #18248-013; Gibco/BRL). cDNAs were fractionated on a Sepharose CL4B column (Cat. #275105, Pharmacia), and those cDNAs exceeding 400 bp were ligated into PSPORT I. The plasmid PSPORT I was subsequently transformed into DH5a competent cells (Cat. #18258-012, Gibco/BRL).

II Isolation and Sequencing of cDNA Clones

Plasmid DNA was released from the cells and purified using the Miniprep Kit (Cat. # 77468; Advanced Genetic Technologies Corporation, Gaithersburg Md.). This kit consists of a 96 well block with reagents for 960 purifications. The recommended protocol was employed except for the following changes: 1) the 96 wells were each filled with only 1 ml of sterile Terrific Broth (Cat. # 22711, LIFE TECHNOLOGIES™, Gaithersburg Md.) with carbenicillin at 25 mg/L and glycerol at 0.4%; 2) the bacteria were cultured for 24 hours after the wells were inoculated and then lysed with 60 μl of lysis buffer; 3) a centrifugation step employing the Beckman GS-6R @2900 rpm for 5 min was performed before the contents of the block were added to the primary filter plate; and 4) the optional step of adding isopropanol to TRIS buffer was not routinely performed. After the last step in the protocol, samples were transferred to a Beckman 96-well block for storage.

The cDNAs were sequenced by the method of Sanger F and AR Coulson (1975; J Mol Biol 94:441f), using a Hamilton Micro Lab 2200 (Hamilton, Reno Nev.) in combination with four Peltier Thermal Cyclers (PTC200; MJ Research, Watertown Mass.) and Applied Biosystems 377 DNA Sequencing Systems (Perkin Elmer), and reading frame was determined.

III Homology Searching of CDNA Clones and Their Deduced Proteins

Each cDNA was compared to sequences in GenBank using a search algorithm developed by Applied Biosystems and incorporated into the INHERIT 670 Sequence Analysis System. In this algorithm, Pattern Specification Language (TRW Inc, Los Angeles Calif.) was used to determine regions of homology. The three parameters that determine how the sequence comparisons run were window size, window offset, and error tolerance. Using a combination of these three parameters, the DNA database was searched for sequences containing regions of homology to the query sequence, and the appropriate sequences were scored with an initial value. Subsequently, these homologous regions were examined using dot matrix homology plots to distinguish regions of homology from chance matches. Smith-Waterman alignments were used to display the results of the homology search.

Peptide and protein sequence homologies were ascertained using the INHERIT™ 670 Sequence Analysis System in a way similar to that used in DNA sequence homologies. Pattern Specification Language and parameter windows were used to search protein databases for sequences containing regions of homology which were scored with an initial value. Dot-matrix homology plots were examined to distinguish regions of significant homology from chance matches.

BLAST, which stands for Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (Altschul SF (1993) J Mol Evol 36:290-300; Altschul, SF et al (1990) J Mol Biol 215:403-10), was used to search for local sequence alignments. BLAST produces alignments of both nucleotide and amino acid sequences to determine sequence similarity. Because of the local nature of the alignments, BLAST is especially useful in determining exact matches or in identifying homologs. BLAST is useful for matches which do not contain gaps. The fundamental unit of BLAST algorithm output is the High-scoring Segment Pair (HSP).

An HSP consists of two sequence fragments of arbitrary but equal lengths whose alignment is locally maximal and for which the alignment score meets or exceeds a threshold or cutoff score set by the user. The BLAST approach is to look for HSPs between a query sequence and a database sequence, to evaluate the statistical significance of any matches found, and to report only those matches which satisfy the user-selected threshold of significance. The parameter E establishes the statistically significant threshold for reporting database sequence matches. E is interpreted as the upper bound of the expected frequency of chance occurrence of an HSP (or set of HSPs) within the context of the entire database search. Any database sequence whose match satisfies E is reported in the program output.

IV Northern Analysis

Northern analysis is a laboratory technique used to detect the presence of a transcript of a gene and involves the hybridization of a labeled nucleotide sequence to a membrane on which RNAs from a particular cell type or tissue have been bound (Sambrook et al. supra).

Analogous computer techniques use BLAST (Altschul SF 1993 and 1990, supra) to search for identical or related molecules in nucleotide databases such as GenBank or the LIFESEQ™ database (Incyte, Palo Alto Calif.). This analysis is much faster than multiple, membrane-based hybridizations. In addition, the sensitivity of the computer search can be modified to determine whether any particular match is categorized as exact or homologous.

The basis of the search is the product score which is defined as:

% sequence identity×% maximum BLAST score/100

and it takes into account both the degree of similarity between two sequences and the length of the sequence match. For example, with a product score of 40, the match will be exact within a 1-2% error; and at 70, the match will be exact. Homologous molecules are usually identified by selecting those which show product scores between 15 and 40, although lower scores may identify related molecules.

The results of the search are reported as a list of libraries in which the SURH encoding sequence occurs. Abundance and percentage abundance of the SURH encoding sequence are also reported. Abundance directly reflects the number of times a particular transcript is represented in a cDNA library, and percent abundance is abundance divided by the total number of sequences examined in the cDNA library.

V Extension of SURH to Full Length or to Recover Regulatory Elements

The nucleic acid sequence encoding SURH (SEQ ID NO:2) is used to design oligonucleotide primers for extending a partial nucleotide sequence to full length or for obtaining 5′ sequences from genomic libraries. One primer is synthesized to initiate extension in the antisense direction (XLR) and the other is synthesized to extend sequence in the sense direction (XLF). Primers allow the extension of the known SURH nucleotide sequence “outward”, generating amplicons containing new, unknown nucleotide sequence for the region of interest (U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/487,112, filed Jun. 7, 1995, specifically incorporated by reference). The initial primers are designed from the cDNA using OLIGO® 4.06 Primer Analysis Software (National Biosciences), or another appropriate program, to be 22-30 nucleotides in length, to have a GC content of 50% or more, and to anneal to the target sequence at temperatures about 68°-72° C. Any stretch of nucleotides which would result in hairpin structures and primer-primer dimerizations is avoided.

The original, selected cDNA libraries, or a human genomic library are used to extend the sequence; the latter is most useful to obtain 5′ upstream regions. If more extension is necessary or desired, additional sets of primers are designed to further extend the known region.

By following the instructions for the XL-PCR kit (Perkin Elmer) and thoroughly mixing the enzyme and reaction mix, high fidelity amplification is obtained. Beginning with 40 pmol of each primer and the recommended concentrations of all other components of the kit, PCR is performed using the Peltier Thermal Cycler (PTC200; MJ Research, Watertown Mass.) and the following parameters:

Step 1 94° C. for 1 min (initial denaturation) Step 2 65° C. for 1 min Step 3 68° C. for 6 min Step 4 94° C. for 15 sec Step 5 65° C. for 1 min Step 6 68° C. for 7 min Step 7 Repeat step 4-6 for 15 additional cycles Step 8 94° C. for 15 sec Step 9 65° C. for 1 min Step 10 68° C. for 7:15 min Step 11 Repeat step 8-10 for 12 cycles Step 12 72° C. for 8 min Step 13 4° C. (and holding)

A 5-10 μl aliquot of the reaction mixture is analyzed by electrophoresis on a low concentration (about 0.6-0.8%) agarose mini-gel to determine which reactions were successful in extending the sequence. Bands thought to contain the largest products were selected and cut out of the gel. Further purification involves using a commercial gel extraction method such as QIAQuick (QIAGEN Inc). After recovery of the DNA, Klenow enzyme was used to trim single-stranded, nucleotide overhangs creating blunt ends which facilitate religation and cloning.

After ethanol precipitation, the products are redissolved in 13 μl of ligation buffer, 1μl T4-DNA ligase (15 units) and 1μl T4 polynucleotide kinase are added, and the mixture is incubated at room temperature for 2-3 hours or overnight at 16° C. Competent E. coli cells (in 40 μl of appropriate media) are transformed with 3 μl of ligation mixture and cultured in 80 μl of SOC medium (Sambrook J et al, supra). After incubation for one hour at 37° C., the whole transformation mixture is plated on Luria Bertani (LB)-agar (Sambrook J et al, supra) containing 2×Carb. The following day, several colonies are randomly picked from each plate and cultured in 150 μl of liquid LB/2×Carb medium placed in an individual well of an appropriate, commercially-available, sterile 96-well microtiter plate. The following day, 5 μl of each overnight culture is transferred into a non-sterile 96-well plate and after dilution 1:10 with water, 5 μl of each sample is transferred into a PCR array.

For PCR amplification, 18 μl of concentrated PCR reaction mix (3.3×) containing 4 units of rTth DNA polymerase, a vector primer and one or both of the gene specific primers used for the extension reaction are added to each well. Amplification is performed using the following conditions:

Step 1 94° C. for 60 sec Step 2 94° C. for 20 sec Step 3 55° C. for 30 sec Step 4 72° C. for 90 sec Step 5 Repeat steps 2-4 for an additional 29 cycles Step 6 72° C. for 180 sec Step 7 4° C. (and holding)

Aliquots of the PCR reactions are run on agarose gels together with molecular weight markers. The sizes of the PCR products are compared to the original partial cDNAs, and appropriate clones are selected, ligated into plasmid and sequenced.

VI Labeling and Use of Hybridization Probes

Hybridization probes derived from SEQ ID NO:2 are employed to screen cDNAs, genomic DNAs or mRNAs. Although the labeling of oligonucleotides, consisting of about 20 base-pairs, is specifically described, essentially the same procedure is used with larger cDNA fragments. Oligonucleotides are designed using state-of-the-art software such as OLIGO 4.06 (National Biosciences), labeled by combining 50 pmol of each oligomer and 250 mCi of [γ-³²P] adenosine triphosphate (Amersham, Chicago Ill.) and T4 polynucleotide kinase (DuPont NEN®, Boston Mass.). The labeled oligonucleotides are substantially purified with Sephadex G-25 super fine resin column (Pharmacia). A portion containing 10⁷ counts per minute of each of the sense and antisense oligonucleotides is used in a typical membrane based hybridization analysis of human genomic DNA digested with one of the following endonucleases (Ase I, Bgl II, Eco RI, Pst I, Xba 1, or Pvu II; DuPont NEN®).

The DNA from each digest is fractionated on a 0.7 percent agarose gel and transferred to nylon membranes (Nytran Plus, Schleicher & Schuell, Durham N. H.). Hybridization is carried out for 16 hours at 40° C. To remove nonspecific signals, blots are sequentially washed at room temperature under increasingly stringent conditions up to 0.1× saline sodium citrate and 0.5% sodium dodecyl sulfate. After XOMAT AR™ film (Kodak, Rochester N.Y.) is exposed to the blots in a Phosphoimager cassette (Molecular Dynamics, Sunnyvale Calif.) for several hours, hybridization patterns are compared visually.

VII Antisense Molecules

The nucleotide sequence encoding SURH, or any part thereof, is used to inhibit in vivo or in vitro expression of naturally occurring SURH. Although use of antisense oligonucleotides, comprising about 20 base-pairs, is specifically described, essentially the same procedure is used with larger cDNA fragments. An oligonucleotide based on the coding sequence of SURH as shown in FIG. 1A-1M is used to inhibit expression of naturally occurring SURH. The complementary oligonucleotide is designed from the most unique 5′ sequence as shown in FIG. 1A-1M used either to inhibit transcription by preventing promoter binding to the upstream nontranslated sequence or translation of a SURH transcript by preventing the ribosome from binding. Using an appropriate portion of the leader and 5′ sequence of SEQ ID NO:2, an effective antisense oligonucleotide includes any 15-20 nucleotides spanning the region which translates into the signal or early coding sequence of the polypeptide as shown in FIG. 1A-1M.

VIII Expression of SURH

Expression of SURH may be accomplished by subcloning the cDNAs into appropriate expression vectors and transfecting the vectors into analogous expression hosts. In this case, the cloning vector , PSPORT I, previously used for the generation of the cDNA library also provides for direct expression of SURH sequences in E. coli. Upstream of the cloning site, this vector contains a promoter for β-galactosidase, followed by sequence containing the amino-terminal Met and the subsequent 7 residues of β-galactosidase. Immediately following these eight residues is an engineered bacteriophage promoter useful for artificial priming and transcription and a number of unique restriction sites, including Eco RI, for cloning.

Induction of the isolated, transfected bacterial strain with IPTG using standard methods will produce a fusion protein corresponding to the first seven residues of β-galactosidase, about 15 residues of “linker”, and the peptide encoded within the cDNA. Since cDNA clone inserts are generated by an essentially random process, there is one chance in three that the included cDNA will lie in the correct frame for proper translation. If the cDNA is not in the proper reading frame, it can be obtained by deletion or insertion of the appropriate number of bases by well known methods including in vitro mutagenesis, digestion with exonuclease III or mung bean nuclease, or the inclusion of an oligonucleotide linker of appropriate length.

The SURH cDNA can be shuttled into other vectors known to be useful for expression of protein in specific hosts. Oligonucleotide primers containing cloning sites as well as a segment of DNA (about 25 bases) sufficient to hybridize to stretches at both ends of the target cDNA can be synthesized chemically by standard methods. These primers can then used to amplify the desired gene segment by PCR. The resulting gene segment can be digested with appropriate restriction enzymes under standard conditions and isolated by gel electrophoresis. Alternately, similar gene segments can be produced by digestion of the cDNA with appropriate restriction enzymes. Using appropriate primers, segments of coding sequence from more than one gene can be ligated together and cloned in appropriate vectors. It is possible to optimize expression by construction of such chimeric sequences.

Suitable expression hosts for such chimeric molecules include, but are not limited to, mammalian cells such as Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) and human 293 cells, insect cells such as Sf9 cells, yeast cells such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and bacteria such as E. coli. For each of these cell systems, a useful expression vector may also include an origin of replication to allow propagation in bacteria and a selectable marker such as the β-lactamase antibiotic resistance gene to allow plasmid selection in bacteria. In addition, the vector may include a second selectable marker such as the neomycin phosphotransferase gene to allow selection in transfected eukaryotic host cells. Vectors for use in eukaryotic expression hosts may require RNA processing elements such as 3′ polyadenylation sequences if such are not part of the cDNA of interest.

Additionally, the vector may contain promoters or enhancers which increase gene expression. Such promoters are host specific and include MMTV, SV40, and metallothionine promoters for CHO cells; trp, lac, tac and T7 promoters for bacterial hosts; and alpha factor, alcohol oxidase and PGH promoters for yeast. Transcription enhancers, such as the rous sarcoma virus enhancer, may be used in mammalian host cells. Homogeneous cultures of recombinant cells are obtained through standard culture methods. Cellular fractions from cells containing SURH are prepared by solubilization of the whole cell and isolation of subcellular fractions by differential centrifugation, by the addition of detergent, or by other methods well known in the art. These fractions can be used directly in the following assay.

IX SURH Activity

The SU binding activity of SURH or biologically active fragments thereof may be assayed in a competitive binding assay. The competitive binding of 5-[¹²⁵I]iodo-2-hydroxyglyburide (¹²⁵I-HGB; Nelson et al (1992) J Biol Chem 267:14928-14933) and an unlabeled SU to SURH is measured by subsequent UV-crosslinking of bound ¹²⁵I-HGB to the protein. Detergent-solubilized or membrane-bound SURH, or soluble fragments of SURH, are incubated with varying concentrations of unlabeled SU plus a predetermined concentration of ¹²⁵I-HGB until equilibrium is reached. Aliquots are irradiated at 312 nm to cross-link SURH-bound ¹²⁵I-HGB to the protein. The irradiated protein samples are electrophoresed on SDS-polyacrylamide gels. The gels are dried and subjected to autoradiography. Bands corresponding to ¹²⁵I-labeled SURH are excised from the dried gels, and the radioactivity quantitated in a gamma radiation counter. Data obtained using different concentrations of unlabeled SUs are used to calculate values for the number, affinity, and association of SURH with the candidate SU ligands using an equation such as presented in Nelson et al (supra).

X Production of SURH Specific Antibodies

SURH substantially purified using PAGE electrophoresis (Sambrook, supra) is used to immunize rabbits and to produce antibodies using standard protocols. The amino acid sequence translated from SURH is analyzed using DNASTAR software (DNAStar Inc) to determine regions of high immunogenicity and a corresponding oligopolypeptide is synthesized and used to raise antibodies by means known to those of skill in the art. Analysis to select appropriate epitopes, such as those near the C-terminus or in hydrophilic regions is described by Ausubel FM et al (supra).

Typically, the oligopeptides are 15 residues in length, synthesized using an Applied Biosystems Peptide Synthesizer Model 431A using fmoc-chemistry, and coupled to keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH, Sigma) by reaction with M-maleimidobenzoyl-N-hydroxysuccinimide ester (MBS; Ausubel FM et al, supra). Rabbits are immunized with the oligopeptide-KLH complex in complete Freund's adjuvant. The resulting antisera are tested for antipeptide activity, for example, by binding the peptide to plastic, blocking with 1% BSA, reacting with rabbit antisera, washing, and reacting with radioiodinated, goat anti-rabbit IgG.

XI Purification of Naturally Occurring SURH Using Specific Antibodies

Naturally occurring or recombinant SURH is substantially purified by immunoaffinity chromatography using antibodies specific for SURH. An immunoaffinity column is constructed by covalently coupling SURH antibody to an activated chromatographic resin such as CnBr-activated Sepharose (Pharmacia Biotech). After the coupling, the resin is blocked and washed according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Cellular fractions from cells containing SURH are prepared by solubilization of the whole cell and isolation of subcellular fractions by differential centrifugation, by the addition of detergent, or by other methods well known in the art.

A fractionated SURH-containing preparation is passed over the immunoaffinity column, and the column is washed under conditions that allow the preferential absorbance of SURH (eg, high ionic strength buffers in the presence of detergent). The column is eluted under conditions that disrupt antibody/SURH binding (eg, a buffer of pH 2-3 or a high concentration of a chaotrope such as urea or thiocyanate ion), and SURH is collected.

All publications and patents mentioned in the above specification are herein incorporated by reference. Various modifications and variations of the described method and system of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Although the invention has been described in connection with specific preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiments. Indeed, various modifications of the described modes for carrying out the invention which are obvious to those skilled in molecular biology or related fields are intended to be within the scope of the following claims.

5 1580 amino acids amino acid single linear peptide unknown (B) CLONE Consensus 1 Met Pro Leu Ala Phe Cys Gly Ser Glu Asn His Ser Ala Ala Tyr Arg 1 5 10 15 Val Asp Gln Gly Val Leu Asn Asn Gly Cys Phe Val Asp Ala Leu Asn 20 25 30 Val Val Pro His Val Phe Leu Leu Phe Ile Thr Phe Pro Ile Leu Phe 35 40 45 Ile Gly Trp Gly Ser Gln Ser Ser Lys Val His Ile His His Ser Thr 50 55 60 Trp Leu His Phe Pro Gly His Asn Leu Arg Trp Ile Leu Thr Phe Met 65 70 75 80 Leu Leu Phe Val Leu Val Cys Glu Ile Ala Glu Gly Ile Leu Ser Asp 85 90 95 Gly Val Thr Glu Ser His His Leu His Leu Tyr Met Pro Ala Gly Met 100 105 110 Ala Phe Met Ala Ala Val Thr Ser Val Val Tyr Tyr His Asn Ile Glu 115 120 125 Thr Ser Asn Phe Pro Lys Leu Leu Ile Ala Leu Leu Val Tyr Trp Thr 130 135 140 Leu Ala Phe Ile Thr Lys Thr Ile Lys Phe Val Lys Phe Leu Asp His 145 150 155 160 Ala Ile Gly Phe Ser Gln Leu Arg Phe Cys Leu Thr Gly Leu Leu Val 165 170 175 Ile Leu Tyr Gly Met Leu Leu Leu Val Glu Val Asn Val Ile Arg Val 180 185 190 Arg Arg Tyr Ile Phe Phe Lys Thr Pro Arg Glu Val Lys Pro Pro Glu 195 200 205 Asp Leu Gln Asp Leu Gly Val Arg Phe Leu Gln Pro Phe Val Asn Leu 210 215 220 Leu Ser Lys Gly Thr Tyr Trp Trp Met Asn Ala Phe Ile Lys Thr Ala 225 230 235 240 His Lys Lys Pro Xaa Asp Leu Arg Ala Ile Gly Lys Leu Pro Ile Ala 245 250 255 Met Arg Ala Leu Thr Asn Tyr Gln Arg Leu Cys Glu Ala Phe Asp Ala 260 265 270 Gln Arg Lys Asp Ile Gln Gly Thr Gln Gly Ala Arg Ala Ile Trp Gln 275 280 285 Ala Leu Ser His Ala Phe Gly Arg Arg Leu Val Leu Ser Ser Thr Phe 290 295 300 Arg Ile Leu Ala Asp Leu Leu Gly Phe Ala Gly Pro Leu Cys Ile Phe 305 310 315 320 Gly Ile Val Asp His Leu Gly Lys Glu Asn Asp Val Phe Gln Pro Lys 325 330 335 Thr Gln Phe Leu Gly Val Tyr Phe Val Ser Ser Gln Glu Phe Leu Ala 340 345 350 Asn Ala Tyr Val Leu Ala Val Leu Leu Phe Leu Ala Leu Leu Leu Gln 355 360 365 Arg Thr Phe Leu Gln Ala Ser Tyr Tyr Val Ala Ile Glu Thr Gly Ile 370 375 380 Asn Leu Arg Gly Ala Ile Gln Thr Lys Ile Tyr Asn Lys Ile Met His 385 390 395 400 Leu Ser Thr Ser Asn Leu Ser Met Gly Glu Met Thr Ala Gly Gln Ile 405 410 415 Cys Asn Leu Val Ala Ile Asp Thr Asn Gln Leu Met Trp Phe Phe Phe 420 425 430 Leu Cys Pro Asn Leu Trp Ala Met Pro Val Gln Ile Ile Val Gly Val 435 440 445 Ile Leu Leu Tyr Tyr Ile Leu Gly Val Ser Ala Leu Ile Gly Ala Ala 450 455 460 Val Ile Ile Leu Leu Ala Pro Val Gln Tyr Phe Val Ala Thr Lys Leu 465 470 475 480 Ser Gln Ala Gln Arg Ser Thr Leu Glu Tyr Ser Asn Glu Arg Leu Lys 485 490 495 Gln Thr Asn Glu Met Leu Arg Gly Ile Lys Leu Leu Lys Leu Tyr Ala 500 505 510 Trp Glu Asn Ile Phe Arg Thr Arg Val Glu Thr Thr Arg Arg Lys Glu 515 520 525 Met Thr Ser Leu Arg Ala Phe Ala Ile Tyr Thr Ser Ile Ser Ile Phe 530 535 540 Met Asn Thr Ala Ile Pro Ile Ala Ala Val Leu Ile Thr Phe Val Gly 545 550 555 560 His Val Ser Phe Phe Lys Glu Ala Asp Phe Ser Pro Ser Val Ala Phe 565 570 575 Ala Ser Leu Ser Leu Phe His Ile Leu Val Thr Pro Leu Phe Leu Leu 580 585 590 Ser Ser Val Val Arg Ser Thr Val Lys Ala Leu Val Ser Val Gln Lys 595 600 605 Leu Ser Glu Phe Leu Ser Ser Ala Glu Ile Arg Glu Glu Gln Cys Ala 610 615 620 Pro His Glu Pro Thr Pro Gln Gly Pro Ala Ser Lys Tyr Gln Ala Val 625 630 635 640 Pro Leu Arg Val Val Asn Arg Lys Arg Pro Ala Arg Glu Asp Cys Arg 645 650 655 Gly Leu Thr Gly Pro Leu Gln Ser Leu Val Pro Ser Ala Asp Gly Asp 660 665 670 Ala Asp Asn Cys Cys Val Gln Ile Met Gly Gly Tyr Phe Thr Trp Thr 675 680 685 Pro Asp Gly Ile Pro Thr Leu Ser Asn Ile Thr Ile Arg Ile Pro Arg 690 695 700 Gly Gln Leu Thr Met Ile Val Gly Gln Val Gly Cys Gly Lys Ser Ser 705 710 715 720 Leu Leu Leu Ala Ala Leu Gly Glu Met Gln Lys Val Ser Gly Ala Val 725 730 735 Phe Trp Ser Ser Ser Leu Pro Asp Ser Glu Ile Gly Glu Asp Pro Ser 740 745 750 Pro Glu Arg Glu Thr Ala Thr Asp Leu Asp Ile Arg Lys Arg Gly Pro 755 760 765 Val Ala Tyr Ala Ser Gln Lys Pro Trp Leu Leu Asn Ala Thr Val Glu 770 775 780 Glu Asn Ile Ile Phe Glu Ser Pro Phe Asn Lys Gln Arg Tyr Lys Met 785 790 795 800 Val Ile Glu Ala Cys Ser Leu Gln Pro Asp Ile Asp Ile Leu Pro His 805 810 815 Gly Asp Gln Thr Gln Ile Gly Glu Arg Gly Ile Asn Leu Ser Gly Gly 820 825 830 Gln Arg Gln Arg Ile Ser Val Ala Arg Ala Leu Tyr Gln His Ala Asn 835 840 845 Val Val Phe Leu Asp Asp Pro Phe Ser Ala Leu Asp Ile His Leu Ser 850 855 860 Asp His Leu Met Gln Ala Gly Ile Leu Glu Leu Leu Arg Asp Asp Lys 865 870 875 880 Arg Thr Val Val Leu Val Thr His Lys Leu Gln Tyr Leu Pro His Ala 885 890 895 Asp Trp Ile Ile Ala Met Lys Asp Gly Thr Ile Gln Arg Glu Gly Thr 900 905 910 Ser Arg Thr Ser Arg Gly Leu Asn Ala Ser Ser Leu Ser Thr Gly Arg 915 920 925 Pro His Glu Pro Thr Gly Pro Arg Ala Gly Glu Gly Asn Val Thr Glu 930 935 940 Arg Lys Ala Thr Glu Pro Pro Arg Ala Tyr Leu Val Pro Cys Pro Arg 945 950 955 960 Arg Asp Gly Leu Leu Gln Asp Glu Glu Glu Glu Glu Glu Glu Ala Ala 965 970 975 Glu Asn Glu Glu Asp Asp Tyr Leu Ser Ser Met Leu His Gln Arg Ala 980 985 990 Glu Ile Pro Trp Arg Ala Cys Xaa Lys Tyr Leu Ser Ser Ala Gly Ile 995 1000 1005 Leu Leu Leu Ser Leu Leu Val Phe Ser Gln Leu Leu Lys His Met Val 1010 1015 1020 Leu Val Ala Ile Asp Tyr Trp Leu Ala Lys Trp Thr Asp Ser Ala Leu 1025 1030 1035 1040 Thr Leu Thr Pro Ala Thr Arg Asn Cys Ser Leu Asn Gln Glu Cys Thr 1045 1050 1055 Leu Asn Gln Thr Val Tyr Ala Leu Val Phe Thr Val Leu Cys Ser Leu 1060 1065 1070 Gly Ile Val Leu Cys Leu Val Thr Ser Val Thr Val Glu Trp Thr Gly 1075 1080 1085 Leu Lys Val Ala Lys Arg Leu His Arg Ser Leu Leu Asn Arg Ile Ile 1090 1095 1100 Leu Ala Pro Met Arg Phe Phe Glu Thr Thr Pro Leu Gly Ser Ile Leu 1105 1110 1115 1120 Asn Arg Phe Ser Ser Asp Cys Asn Thr Ile Asp Gln His Ile Pro Ser 1125 1130 1135 Thr Leu Glu Cys Leu Ser Arg Ser Thr Leu Leu Cys Val Ser Ala Leu 1140 1145 1150 Ala Val Ile Ser Tyr Val Thr Pro Val Phe Leu Val Ala Leu Leu Pro 1155 1160 1165 Leu Ala Ile Val Cys Tyr Phe Ile Gln Lys Tyr Phe Arg Val Ala Ser 1170 1175 1180 Arg Asp Leu Gln Gln Leu Asp Asp Thr Thr Gln Leu Pro Leu Leu Ser 1185 1190 1195 1200 His Phe Ala Glu Thr Val Glu Gly Leu Thr Thr Ile Arg Ala Phe Arg 1205 1210 1215 Tyr Glu Ala Arg Phe Gln Gln Lys Leu Leu Glu Tyr Thr Asp Ser Asn 1220 1225 1230 Asn Ile Ala Ser Leu Phe Leu Thr Ala Ala Asn Arg Trp Leu Glu Val 1235 1240 1245 Arg Met Glu Tyr Ile Gly Ala Cys Val Val Leu Ile Ala Ala Val Thr 1250 1255 1260 Ser Ile Ser Asn Ser Leu His Arg Glu Leu Ser Ala Gly Leu Val Gly 1265 1270 1275 1280 Leu Gly Leu Thr Tyr Ala Leu Met Val Ser Asn Tyr Leu Asn Trp Met 1285 1290 1295 Val Arg Asn Leu Ala Asp Met Glu Leu Gln Leu Gly Ala Val Lys Arg 1300 1305 1310 Ile His Gly Leu Leu Lys Thr Glu Ala Glu Ser Tyr Glu Gly Leu Leu 1315 1320 1325 Ala Pro Ser Leu Ile Pro Lys Asn Trp Pro Asp Gln Gly Lys Ile Gln 1330 1335 1340 Ile Gln Asn Leu Ser Val Arg Tyr Asp Ser Ser Leu Lys Pro Val Leu 1345 1350 1355 1360 Lys His Val Asn Ala Leu Ile Ser Pro Gly Gln Lys Ile Gly Ile Cys 1365 1370 1375 Gly Arg Thr Gly Ser Gly Lys Ser Ser Phe Ser Leu Ala Phe Phe Arg 1380 1385 1390 Met Val Asp Thr Phe Glu Gly His Ile Ile Ile Asp Gly Ile Asp Ile 1395 1400 1405 Ala Lys Leu Pro Leu His Thr Leu Arg Ser Arg Leu Ser Ile Ile Leu 1410 1415 1420 Gln Asp Pro Val Leu Phe Ser Gly Thr Ile Arg Phe Asn Leu Asp Pro 1425 1430 1435 1440 Glu Arg Lys Cys Ser Asp Ser Thr Leu Trp Glu Ala Leu Glu Ile Ala 1445 1450 1455 Gln Leu Lys Leu Val Val Lys Ala Leu Pro Gly Gly Leu Asp Ala Ile 1460 1465 1470 Ile Thr Glu Gly Gly Glu Asn Phe Ser Gln Gly Gln Arg Gln Leu Phe 1475 1480 1485 Cys Leu Ala Arg Ala Phe Val Arg Lys Thr Ser Ile Phe Ile Met Asp 1490 1495 1500 Glu Ala Thr Ala Ser Ile Asp Met Ala Thr Glu Asn Ile Leu Gln Lys 1505 1510 1515 1520 Val Val Met Thr Ala Phe Ala Asp Arg Thr Val Val Thr Ile Ala His 1525 1530 1535 Arg Val His Thr Ile Leu Ser Ala Asp Leu Val Ile Val Leu Lys Arg 1540 1545 1550 Gly Ala Ile Leu Glu Phe Asp Lys Pro Glu Lys Leu Leu Ser Arg Lys 1555 1560 1565 Asp Ser Val Phe Ala Ser Phe Val Arg Ala Asp Lys 1570 1575 1580 4931 base pairs nucleic acid single linear cDNA unknown (B) CLONE Consensus 2 GAATTCCCGG GTCGACCCAC GCGTCCGCCG CGCCCGCGCC GCCATGCCCC TGGCCTTCTG 60 CGGCAGCGAG AACCACTCGG CCGCCTACCG GGTGGACCAG GGGGTCCTCA ACAACGGCTG 120 CTTTGTGGAC GCGCTCAACG TGGTGCCGCA CGTCTTCCTA CTCTTCATCA CCTTCCCCAT 180 CCTCTTCATT GGATGGGGAA GTCAGAGCTC CAAGGTGCAC ATCCACCACA GCACATGGCT 240 TCATTTCCCT GGGCACAACC TGCGGTGGAT CCTGACCTTC ATGCTGCTCT TCGTCCTGGT 300 GTGTGAGATT GCAGAGGGCA TCCTGTCTGA TGGGGTGACC GAATCCCACC ATCTGCACCT 360 GTACATGCCA GCCGGGATGG CGTTCATGGC TGCTGTCACC TCCGTGGTCT ACTATCACAA 420 CATCGAGACT TCCAACTTCC CCAAGCTGCT AATTGCCCTG CTGGTGTATT GGACCCTGGC 480 CTTCATCACC AAGACCATCA AGTTTGTCAA GTTCTTGGAC CACGCCATCG GCTTCTCGCA 540 GCTACGCTTC TGCCTCACAG GGCTGCTGGT GATCCTCTAT GGGATGCTGC TCCTCGTGGA 600 GGTCAATGTC ATCAGGGTGA GGAGATACAT CTTCTTCAAG ACACCGAGGG AGGTGAAGCC 660 TCCCGAGGAC CTGCAAGACC TGGGGGTACG CTTCCTGCAG CCCTTCGTGA ATCTGCTGTC 720 CAAAGGCACC TACTGGTGGA TGAACGCCTT CATCAAGACT GCCCACAAGA AGCCCRTCGA 780 CTTGCGAGCC ATCGGGAAGC TGCCCATCGC CATGAGGGCC CTCACCAACT ACCAACGGCT 840 CTGCGAGGCC TTTGACGCCC AGCGGAAGGA CATTCAGGGC ACTCAAGGTG CCCGGGCCAT 900 CTGGCAGGCA CTCAGCCATG CCTTCGGGAG GCGCCTGGTC CTCAGCAGCA CTTTCCGCAT 960 CTTGGCCGAC CTGCTGGGCT TCGCCGGGCC ACTGTGCATC TTTGGGATCG TGGACCACCT 1020 TGGGAAGGAG AACGACGTCT TCCAGCCCAA GACACAATTT CTCGGGGTTT ACTTTGTCTC 1080 ATCCCAAGAG TTCCTTGCCA ATGCCTACGT CTTAGCTGTG CTTCTGTTCC TTGCCCTCCT 1140 ACTGCAAAGG ACATTTCTGC AAGCATCCTA CTATGTGGCC ATTGAAACTG GAATTAACTT 1200 GAGAGGAGCA ATACAGACCA AGATTTACAA TAAAATTATG CACCTGTCCA CCTCCAACCT 1260 GTCCATGGGA GAAATGACTG CTGGACAGAT CTGYAATCTG GTTGCCATCG ACACCAATCA 1320 GCTCATGTGG TTTTTCTTCT TGTGCCCAAA CCTCTGGGCT ATGCCAGTAC AGATCATTGT 1380 GGGTGTGATT CTCCTCTACT ACATACTCGG AGTCAGTGCC TTAATTGGAG CAGCTGTCAT 1440 CATTCTACTG GCTCCTGTCC AGTACTTCGT GGCCACCAAG CTGTCTCAGG CCCAGCGGAG 1500 CACACTGGAG TATTCCAATG AGCGGCTGAA GCAGACCAAC GAGATGCTCC GCGGCATCAA 1560 GCTGCTGAAG CTGTACGCCT GGGAGAACAT CTTCCGCACG CGGGTGGAGA CGACCCGCAG 1620 GAAGGAGATG ACCAGCCTCA GGGCCTTTGC CATCTATACC TCCATCTCCA TTTTCATGAA 1680 CACGGCCATC CCCATTGCAG CTGTCCTCAT AACTTTCGTG GGCCATGTCA GCTTCTTCAA 1740 AGAGGCCGAC TTCTCGCCCT CCGTGGCCTT TGCCTCCCTC TCCCTCTTCC ATATCTTGGT 1800 CACACCGCTG TTCCTGCTGT CCAGTGTGGT CCGATCTACC GTCAAAGCTC TAGTGAGCGT 1860 GCAAAAGCTA AGCGAGTTCC TGTCCAGTGC AGAGATCCGT GAGGAGCAGT GTGCCCCCCA 1920 TGAGCCCACA CCTCAGGGCC CAGCCAGCAA GTACCAGGCG GTGCCCCTCA GGGTTGTGAA 1980 CCGCAAGCGT CCAGCCCGGG AGGATTGTCG GGGCCTCACC GGCCCACTGC AGAGCCTGGT 2040 CCCCAGTGCA GATGGCGATG CTGACAACTG CTGTGTCCAG ATCATGGGAG GCTACTTCAC 2100 GTGGACCCCA GATGGAATCC CCACACTGTC CAACATCACC ATTCGTATCC CCCGAGGCCA 2160 GCTGACTATG ATCGTGGGGC AGGTGGGCTG CGGCAAGTCC TCGCTCCTTC TAGCCGCACT 2220 GGGGGAGATG CAGAAGGTCT CAGGGGCTGT CTTCTGGAGC AGCAGCCTTC CTGACAGCGA 2280 GATAGGAGAG GACCCCAGCC CAGAGCGGGA GACAGCGACC GACTTGGATA TCAGGAAGAG 2340 AGGCCCCGTG GCCTATGCTT CGCAGAAACC ATGGCTGCTA AATGCCACTG TGGAGGAGAA 2400 CATCATCTTT GAGAGTCCCT TCAACAAACA ACGGTACAAG ATGGTCATTG AAGCCTGCTC 2460 TCTGCAGCCA GACATCGACA TCCTGCCCCA TGGAGACCAG ACCCAGATTG GGGAACGGGG 2520 CATCAACCTG TCTGGTGGTC AACGCCAGCG AATCAGTGTG GCCCGAGCCC TCTACCAGCA 2580 CGCCAACGTT GTCTTCTTGG ATGACCCCTT CTCAGCTCTG GATATCCATC TGAGTGACCA 2640 CTTAATGCAG GCCGGCATCC TTGAGCTGCT CCGGGACGAC AAGAGGACAG TGGTCTTAGT 2700 GACCCACAAG CTACAGTACC TGCCCCATGC AGACTGGATC ATTGCCATGA AGGATGGCAC 2760 CATCCAGAGG GAGGGTACCT CAAGGACTTC CAGAGGTCTG AATGCCAGCT CTTTGAGCAC 2820 TGGAAGACCT CATGAACCGA CAGGACCAAG AGCTGGAGAA GGAAATGTCA CAGAGAGAAA 2880 AGCCACAGAG CCACCCAGGG CCTATCTCGT GCCATGTCCT CGAAGGGATG GCCTTCTGCA 2940 GGATGAGGAA GAGGAGGAAG AGGAGGCAGC TGAGAACGAG GAGGATGACT ACCTGTCGTC 3000 CATGCTGCAC CAGCGTGCTG AGATCCCATG GCGAGCCTGC NCCAAGTACC TGTCCTCCGC 3060 CGGCATCCTG CTCCTGTCGT TGCTGGTCTT CTCACAGCTG CTCAAGCACA TGGTCCTGGT 3120 GGCCATCGAC TACTGGCTGG CCAAGTGGAC CGACAGCGCC CTGACCCTGA CCCCTGCAAC 3180 CAGGAACTGC TCCCTCAACC AGGAGTGCAC CCTCAACCAG ACTGTCTATG CCTTGGTGTT 3240 CACGGTGCTC TGCAGCCTGG GCATTGTGCT GTGCCTCGTC ACGTCTGTCA CTGTGGAGTG 3300 GACAGGGCTG AAGGTGGCCA AGAGACTGCA CCGCAGCCTG CTAAACCGGA TCATCCTAGC 3360 CCCCATGAGG TTTTTTGAGA CCACGCCCCT TGGGAGCATC CTGAACAGAT TTTCATCTGA 3420 CTGTAACACC ATCGACCAGC ACATCCCATC CACGCTGGAG TGCCTGAGCC GCTCCACCCT 3480 GCTCTGTGTC TCAGCCCTGG CCGTCATCTC CTATGTCACA CCTGTGTTCC TCGTGGCCCT 3540 CTTGCCCCTG GCCATCGTGT GCTACTTCAT CCAGAAGTAC TTCCGGGTGG CGTCCAGGGA 3600 CCTGCAGCAG CTGGATGACA CCACCCAGCT TCCACTTCTC TCACACTTTG CCGAAACCGT 3660 AGAAGGACTC ACCACCATCC GGGCCTTCAG GTATGAGGCC CGGTTCCAGC AGAAGCTTCT 3720 CGAATACACA GACTCCAACA ACATTGCTTC CCTCTTCCTC ACAGCTGCCA ACAGATGGCT 3780 GGAAGTCCGA ATGGAGTACA TCGGTGCATG TGTGGTGCTC ATCGCAGCGG TGACCTCCAT 3840 CTCCAACTCC CTGCACAGAG AGCTCTCTGC TGGCCTGGTG GGCCTGGGCC TTACCTACGC 3900 CCTAATGGTC TCCAACTACC TCAACTGGAT GGTGAGGAAC CTGGCAGACA TGGAGCTCCA 3960 GCTGGGGGCT GTGAAGCGCA TCCATGGGCT CCTGAAAACC GAGGCAGAGA GCTACGAGGG 4020 GCTCCTGGCA CCATCGCTGA TCCCAAAGAA CTGGCCAGAC CAAGGGAAGA TCCAGATCCA 4080 GAACCTGAGC GTGCGCTACG ACAGCTCCCT GAAGCCGGTG CTGAAGCACG TCAATGCCCT 4140 CATCTCCCCT GGACAGAAGA TCGGGATCTG CGGCCGCACC GGCAGTGGGA AGTCCTCCTT 4200 CTCTCTTGCC TTCTTCCGCA TGGTGGACAC GTTCGAAGGG CACATCATCA TTGATGGCAT 4260 TGACATCGCC AAACTGCCGC TGCACACCCT GCGCTCACGC CTCTCCATCA TCCTGCAGGA 4320 CCCCGTCCTC TTCAGCGGCA CCATCCGATT TAACCTGGAC CCTGAGAGGA AGTGCTCAGA 4380 TAGCACACTG TGGGAGGCCC TGGAAATCGC CCAGCTGAAG CTGGTGGTGA AGGCACTGCC 4440 AGGAGGCCTC GATGCCATCA TCACAGAAGG CGGGGAGAAT TTCAGCCAGG GACAGAGGCA 4500 GCTGTTCTGC CTGGCCCGGG CCTTCGTGAG GAAGACCAGC ATCTTCATCA TGGACGAGGC 4560 CACGGCTTCC ATTGACATGG CCACGGAAAA CATCCTCCAA AAGGTGGTGA TGACAGCCTT 4620 CGCAGACCGC ACTGTGGTCA CCATCGCGCA TCGAGTGCAC ACCATCCTGA GTGCAGACCT 4680 GGTGATCGTC CTGAAGCGGG GTGCCATCCT TGAGTTCGAT AAGCCAGAGA AGCTGCTCAG 4740 CCGGAAGGAC AGCGTCTTCG CCTCCTTCGT CCGTGCAGAC AAGTGACCTG CCAGAGCCCA 4800 AGTGCCATCC CACATTCGGA CCCTGCCCAT ACCCCTGCCT GGGTTTTCTA ACTGTAAATC 4860 ACTTGTAAAT AAATAGATTT GATTATTAAA AAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAA 4920 AAAAAAAAAA A 4931 1581 amino acids amino acid single linear peptide unknown GenBank 1369844 3 Met Pro Leu Ala Phe Cys Gly Ser Glu Asn His Ser Ala Ala Tyr Arg 1 5 10 15 Val Asp Gln Gly Val Leu Asn Asn Gly Cys Phe Val Asp Val Leu Asn 20 25 30 Val Val Pro His Val Phe Leu Leu Phe Ile Thr Phe Pro Ile Leu Phe 35 40 45 Ile Gly Trp Gly Ser Gln Ser Ser Lys Val His Ile His His Ser Thr 50 55 60 Trp Leu His Phe Pro Gly His Asn Leu Arg Trp Ile Leu Thr Phe Met 65 70 75 80 Leu Leu Phe Val Leu Val Cys Glu Ile Ala Glu Gly Ile Leu Ser Asp 85 90 95 Gly Val Thr Glu Ser His His Leu His Leu Tyr Met Pro Ala Gly Met 100 105 110 Ala Phe Met Ala Ala Val Thr Ser Val Val Tyr Tyr His Asn Ile Glu 115 120 125 Thr Ser Asn Phe Pro Lys Leu Leu Ile Ala Leu Leu Val Tyr Trp Thr 130 135 140 Leu Ala Phe Ile Thr Lys Thr Ile Lys Phe Val Lys Phe Leu Asp His 145 150 155 160 Ala Ile Ala Phe Ser Gln Val Arg Phe Cys Leu Thr Gly Leu Leu Val 165 170 175 Ile Leu Tyr Gly Met Leu Leu Leu Val Glu Val Asn Val Ile Arg Val 180 185 190 Arg Arg Tyr Ile Phe Phe Lys Thr Pro Arg Glu Val Lys Pro Pro Glu 195 200 205 Asp Leu Gln Asp Leu Gly Val Arg Phe Leu Gln Pro Phe Val Asn Leu 210 215 220 Leu Ser Lys Gly Thr Tyr Trp Trp Met Asn Ala Phe Ile Lys Thr Ala 225 230 235 240 His Lys Lys Pro Ile Asp Leu Arg Ala Ile Gly Lys Leu Pro Ile Ala 245 250 255 Met Arg Ala Leu Thr Asn Tyr Gln Arg Leu Cys Glu Ala Phe Asp Ala 260 265 270 Gln Val Arg Lys Asp Ile Gln Gly Thr Gln Gly Ala Arg Ala Ile Trp 275 280 285 Gln Ala Leu Ser His Ala Phe Gly Arg Arg Leu Val Leu Ser Ser Thr 290 295 300 Phe Arg Ile Leu Ala Asp Leu Leu Gly Phe Ala Gly Pro Leu Cys Ile 305 310 315 320 Phe Gly Ile Val Asp His Leu Gly Lys Glu Asn Asp Val Phe Gln Pro 325 330 335 Lys Thr Gln Phe Leu Gly Val Tyr Phe Val Ser Ser Gln Glu Phe Leu 340 345 350 Ala Asn Ala Tyr Val Leu Ala Val Leu Leu Phe Leu Ala Leu Leu Leu 355 360 365 Gln Arg Thr Phe Leu Gln Ala Ser Tyr Tyr Val Ala Ile Glu Thr Gly 370 375 380 Ile Asn Leu Arg Gly Ala Ile Gln Thr Lys Ile Tyr Asn Lys Ile Met 385 390 395 400 His Leu Ser Thr Ser Asn Leu Ser Met Gly Glu Met Thr Ala Gly Gln 405 410 415 Ile Cys Asn Leu Val Ala Ile Asp Thr Asn Gln Leu Met Trp Phe Phe 420 425 430 Phe Leu Cys Pro Asn Leu Trp Ala Met Pro Val Gln Ile Ile Val Gly 435 440 445 Val Ile Leu Leu Tyr Tyr Ile Leu Gly Val Ser Ala Leu Ile Gly Ala 450 455 460 Ala Val Ile Ile Leu Leu Ala Pro Val Gln Tyr Phe Val Ala Thr Lys 465 470 475 480 Leu Ser Gln Ala Gln Arg Thr Thr Leu Glu Tyr Ser Asn Glu Arg Leu 485 490 495 Lys Gln Thr Asn Glu Met Leu Arg Gly Ile Lys Leu Leu Lys Leu Tyr 500 505 510 Ala Trp Glu Asn Ile Phe Arg Thr Arg Val Glu Thr Thr Arg Arg Lys 515 520 525 Glu Met Thr Ser Leu Arg Ala Phe Ala Ile Tyr Thr Ser Ile Ser Ile 530 535 540 Phe Met Asn Thr Ala Ile Pro Ile Ala Ala Val Leu Ile Thr Phe Val 545 550 555 560 Gly His Val Ser Phe Phe Lys Glu Ala Asp Phe Ser Pro Ser Val Ala 565 570 575 Phe Ala Ser Leu Ser Leu Phe His Ile Leu Val Thr Pro Leu Phe Leu 580 585 590 Leu Ser Ser Val Val Arg Ser Thr Val Lys Ala Leu Val Ser Val Gln 595 600 605 Lys Leu Ser Glu Phe Leu Ser Ser Ala Glu Ile Arg Glu Glu Gln Cys 610 615 620 Ala Pro His Glu Pro Thr Pro Gln Gly Pro Ala Ser Lys Tyr Gln Ala 625 630 635 640 Val Pro Leu Arg Val Val Asn Arg Lys Arg Pro Ala Arg Glu Asp Cys 645 650 655 Arg Gly Leu Thr Gly Pro Leu Gln Ser Leu Val Pro Ser Ala Asp Gly 660 665 670 Asp Ala Asp Asn Cys Cys Val Gln Ile Met Gly Gly Tyr Phe Thr Trp 675 680 685 Thr Pro Asp Gly Ile Pro Thr Leu Ser Asn Ile Thr Ile Arg Ile Pro 690 695 700 Arg Gly Gln Leu Thr Met Ile Val Gly Gln Val Gly Cys Gly Lys Ser 705 710 715 720 Ser Leu Leu Leu Ala Ala Leu Gly Glu Met Gln Lys Val Ser Gly Ala 725 730 735 Val Phe Trp Ser Ser Leu Pro Asp Ser Glu Ile Gly Glu Asp Pro Ser 740 745 750 Pro Glu Arg Glu Thr Ala Thr Asp Leu Asp Ile Arg Lys Arg Gly Pro 755 760 765 Val Ala Tyr Ala Ser Gln Lys Pro Trp Leu Leu Asn Ala Thr Val Glu 770 775 780 Glu Asn Ile Ile Phe Glu Ser Pro Phe Asn Lys Gln Arg Tyr Lys Met 785 790 795 800 Val Ile Glu Ala Cys Ser Leu Gln Pro Asp Ile Asp Ile Leu Pro His 805 810 815 Gly Asp Gln Thr Gln Ile Gly Glu Arg Gly Ile Asn Leu Ser Gly Gly 820 825 830 Gln Arg Gln Arg Ile Ser Val Ala Arg Ala Leu Tyr Gln His Ala Asn 835 840 845 Val Val Phe Leu Asp Asp Pro Phe Ser Ala Leu Asp Ile His Leu Ser 850 855 860 Asp His Leu Met Gln Ala Gly Ile Leu Glu Leu Leu Arg Asp Asp Lys 865 870 875 880 Arg Thr Val Val Leu Val Thr His Lys Leu Gln Tyr Leu Pro His Ala 885 890 895 Asp Trp Ile Ile Ala Met Lys Asp Gly Thr Ile Gln Arg Glu Gly Thr 900 905 910 Leu Lys Asp Phe Gln Arg Ser Glu Cys Gln Leu Phe Glu His Trp Lys 915 920 925 Thr Leu Met Asn Arg Gln Asp Gln Glu Leu Glu Lys Glu Thr Val Thr 930 935 940 Glu Arg Lys Ala Thr Glu Pro Pro Gln Gly Leu Ser Arg Ala Met Ser 945 950 955 960 Ser Arg Asp Gly Leu Leu Gln Asp Glu Glu Glu Glu Glu Glu Glu Ala 965 970 975 Ala Glu Ser Glu Glu Asp Asp Asn Leu Ser Ser Met Leu His Gln Arg 980 985 990 Ala Glu Ile Pro Trp Arg Ala Cys Ala Lys Tyr Leu Ser Ser Ala Gly 995 1000 1005 Ile Leu Leu Leu Ser Leu Leu Val Phe Ser Gln Leu Leu Lys His Met 1010 1015 1020 Val Leu Val Ala Ile Asp Tyr Trp Leu Ala Lys Trp Thr Asp Ser Ala 025 1030 1035 1040 Leu Thr Leu Thr Pro Ala Ala Arg Asn Cys Ser Leu Ser Gln Glu Cys 1045 1050 1055 Thr Leu Asp Gln Thr Val Tyr Ala Met Val Phe Thr Ala Val Cys Ser 1060 1065 1070 Leu Gly Ile Val Leu Cys Leu Val Thr Ser Val Thr Val Glu Trp Thr 1075 1080 1085 Gly Leu Lys Val Ala Lys Arg Leu His Arg Ser Leu Leu Asn Arg Ile 1090 1095 1100 Ile Leu Ala Pro Met Arg Phe Phe Glu Thr Thr Pro Leu Gly Ser Ile 1105 1110 1115 1120 Leu Asn Arg Phe Ser Ser Asp Cys Asn Thr Ile Asp Gln His Ile Pro 1125 1130 1135 Ser Thr Leu Glu Cys Leu Ser Arg Ser Thr Leu Leu Cys Val Ser Ala 1140 1145 1150 Leu Ala Val Ile Ser Tyr Val Thr Pro Val Phe Leu Val Ala Leu Leu 1155 1160 1165 Pro Leu Ala Ile Val Cys Tyr Phe Ile Gln Lys Tyr Phe Arg Val Ala 1170 1175 1180 Ser Arg Asp Leu Gln Gln Leu Asp Asp Thr Thr Gln Leu Pro Leu Leu 1185 1190 1195 1200 Ser His Phe Ala Glu Thr Val Glu Gly Leu Thr Thr Ile Arg Ala Phe 1205 1210 1215 Arg Tyr Glu Ala Arg Phe Gln Gln Lys Leu Leu Glu Tyr Thr Asp Ser 1220 1225 1230 Asn Asn Ile Ala Ser Leu Phe Leu Thr Ala Ala Asn Arg Trp Leu Glu 1235 1240 1245 Val Arg Met Glu Tyr Ile Gly Ala Cys Val Val Leu Ile Ala Ala Val 1250 1255 1260 Thr Ser Ile Ser Asn Ser Leu His Arg Glu Leu Ser Ala Gly Leu Val 1265 1270 1275 1280 Gly Leu Gly Leu Thr Tyr Ala Leu Met Val Ser Asn Tyr Leu Asn Trp 1285 1290 1295 Met Val Arg Asn Leu Ala Asp Met Glu Leu Gln Leu Gly Ala Val Lys 1300 1305 1310 Arg Ile His Gly Leu Leu Lys Thr Glu Ala Glu Ser Tyr Glu Gly Leu 1315 1320 1325 Leu Ala Pro Ser Leu Ile Pro Lys Asn Trp Pro Asp Gln Gly Lys Ile 1330 1335 1340 Gln Ile Gln Asn Leu Ser Val Arg Tyr Asp Ser Ser Leu Lys Pro Val 1345 1350 1355 1360 Leu Lys His Val Asn Ala Leu Ile Ser Pro Gly Gln Lys Ile Gly Ile 1365 1370 1375 Cys Gly Arg Thr Gly Ser Gly Lys Ser Ser Phe Ser Leu Ala Phe Phe 1380 1385 1390 Arg Met Val Asp Thr Phe Glu Gly His Ile Ile Ile Asp Gly Ile Asp 1395 1400 1405 Ile Ala Lys Leu Pro Leu His Thr Leu Arg Ser Arg Leu Ser Ile Ile 1410 1415 1420 Leu Gln Asp Pro Val Leu Phe Ser Gly Thr Ile Arg Phe Asn Leu Asp 1425 1430 1435 1440 Pro Glu Arg Lys Cys Ser Asp Ser Thr Leu Trp Glu Ala Leu Glu Ile 1445 1450 1455 Ala Gln Leu Lys Leu Val Val Lys Ala Leu Pro Gly Gly Leu Asp Ala 1460 1465 1470 Ile Ile Thr Glu Gly Gly Glu Asn Phe Ser Gln Gly Gln Arg Gln Leu 1475 1480 1485 Phe Cys Leu Ala Arg Ala Phe Val Arg Lys Thr Ser Ile Phe Ile Met 1490 1495 1500 Asp Glu Ala Thr Ala Ser Ile Asp Met Ala Thr Glu Asn Ile Leu Gln 1505 1510 1515 1520 Lys Val Val Met Thr Ala Phe Ala Asp Arg Thr Val Val Thr Ile Ala 1525 1530 1535 His Arg Val His Thr Ile Leu Ser Ala Asp Leu Val Ile Val Leu Lys 1540 1545 1550 Arg Gly Ala Ile Leu Glu Phe Asp Lys Pro Glu Lys Leu Leu Ser Arg 1555 1560 1565 Lys Asp Ser Val Phe Ala Ser Phe Val Arg Ala Asp Lys 1570 1575 1580 1581 amino acids amino acid single linear peptide unknown Genbank 1311534 4 Met Pro Leu Ala Phe Cys Gly Thr Glu Asn His Ser Ala Ala Tyr Arg 1 5 10 15 Val Asp Gln Gly Val Leu Asn Asn Gly Cys Phe Val Asp Ala Leu Asn 20 25 30 Val Val Pro His Val Phe Leu Leu Phe Ile Thr Phe Pro Ile Leu Phe 35 40 45 Ile Gly Trp Gly Ser Gln Ser Ser Lys Val His Ile His His Ser Thr 50 55 60 Trp Leu His Phe Pro Gly His Asn Leu Arg Trp Ile Leu Thr Phe Ile 65 70 75 80 Leu Leu Phe Val Leu Val Cys Glu Ile Ala Glu Gly Ile Leu Ser Asp 85 90 95 Gly Val Thr Glu Ser Arg His Leu His Leu Tyr Met Pro Ala Gly Met 100 105 110 Ala Phe Met Ala Ala Ile Thr Ser Val Val Tyr Tyr His Asn Ile Glu 115 120 125 Thr Ser Asn Phe Pro Lys Leu Leu Ile Ala Leu Leu Ile Tyr Trp Thr 130 135 140 Leu Ala Phe Ile Thr Lys Thr Ile Lys Phe Val Lys Phe Tyr Asp His 145 150 155 160 Ala Ile Gly Phe Ser Gln Leu Arg Phe Cys Leu Thr Gly Leu Leu Val 165 170 175 Ile Leu Tyr Gly Met Leu Leu Leu Val Glu Val Asn Val Ile Arg Val 180 185 190 Arg Arg Tyr Val Phe Phe Lys Thr Pro Arg Glu Val Lys Pro Pro Glu 195 200 205 Asp Leu Gln Asp Leu Gly Val Arg Phe Leu Gln Pro Phe Val Asn Leu 210 215 220 Leu Ser Lys Gly Thr Tyr Trp Trp Met Asn Ala Phe Ile Lys Thr Ala 225 230 235 240 His Lys Lys Pro Ile Asp Leu Arg Ala Ile Gly Lys Leu Pro Ile Ala 245 250 255 Met Arg Ala Leu Thr Asn Tyr Gln Arg Leu Cys Leu Ala Phe Asp Ala 260 265 270 Gln Ala Arg Lys Asp Thr Gln Ser Gln Gln Gly Ala Arg Ala Ile Trp 275 280 285 Arg Ala Leu Cys His Ala Phe Gly Arg Arg Leu Val Leu Ser Ser Thr 290 295 300 Phe Arg Ile Leu Ala Asp Leu Leu Gly Phe Ala Gly Pro Leu Cys Ile 305 310 315 320 Phe Gly Ile Val Asp His Leu Gly Lys Glu Asn His Val Phe Gln Pro 325 330 335 Lys Thr Gln Phe Leu Gly Val Tyr Phe Val Ser Ser Gln Glu Phe Leu 340 345 350 Gly Asn Ala Tyr Val Leu Ala Val Leu Leu Phe Leu Ala Leu Leu Leu 355 360 365 Gln Arg Thr Phe Leu Gln Ala Ser Tyr Tyr Val Ala Ile Glu Thr Gly 370 375 380 Ile Asn Leu Arg Gly Ala Ile Gln Thr Lys Ile Tyr Asn Lys Ile Met 385 390 395 400 His Leu Ser Thr Ser Asn Leu Ser Met Gly Glu Met Thr Ala Gly Gln 405 410 415 Ile Cys Asn Leu Val Ala Ile Asp Thr Asn Gln Leu Met Trp Phe Phe 420 425 430 Phe Leu Cys Pro Asn Leu Trp Ala Met Pro Val Gln Ile Ile Val Gly 435 440 445 Val Ile Leu Leu Tyr Tyr Ile Leu Gly Val Ser Ala Leu Ile Gly Ala 450 455 460 Ala Val Ile Ile Leu Leu Ala Pro Val Gln Tyr Phe Val Ala Thr Lys 465 470 475 480 Leu Ser Gln Ala Gln Arg Thr Thr Leu Glu Tyr Ser Asn Glu Arg Leu 485 490 495 Lys Gln Thr Asn Glu Met Leu Arg Gly Ile Lys Leu Leu Lys Leu Tyr 500 505 510 Ala Trp Glu Asn Ile Phe Cys Ser Arg Val Glu Lys Thr Arg Arg Lys 515 520 525 Glu Met Thr Ser Leu Arg Ala Phe Ala Val Tyr Thr Ser Ile Ser Ile 530 535 540 Phe Met Asn Thr Ala Ile Pro Ile Ala Ala Val Leu Ile Thr Phe Val 545 550 555 560 Gly His Val Ser Phe Phe Lys Glu Ser Asp Phe Ser Pro Ser Val Ala 565 570 575 Phe Ala Ser Leu Ser Leu Phe His Ile Leu Val Thr Pro Leu Phe Leu 580 585 590 Leu Ser Ser Val Val Arg Ser Thr Val Lys Ala Leu Val Ser Val Gln 595 600 605 Lys Leu Ser Glu Phe Leu Ser Ser Ala Glu Ile Arg Glu Glu Gln Cys 610 615 620 Ala Pro Arg Glu Pro Ala Pro Gln Gly Gln Ala Gly Lys Tyr Gln Ala 625 630 635 640 Val Pro Leu Lys Val Val Asn Arg Lys Arg Pro Ala Arg Glu Glu Val 645 650 655 Arg Asp Leu Leu Gly Pro Leu Gln Arg Leu Thr Pro Ser Thr Asp Gly 660 665 670 Asp Ala Asp Asn Phe Cys Val Gln Ile Ile Gly Gly Phe Phe Thr Trp 675 680 685 Thr Pro Asp Gly Ile Pro Thr Leu Ser Asn Ile Thr Ile Arg Ile Pro 690 695 700 Arg Gly Gln Leu Thr Met Ile Val Gly Gln Val Gly Cys Gly Lys Ser 705 710 715 720 Ser Leu Leu Leu Ala Thr Leu Gly Glu Met Gln Lys Val Ser Gly Ala 725 730 735 Val Phe Trp Asn Ser Leu Pro Asp Ser Glu Gly Glu Asp Pro Ser Asn 740 745 750 Pro Glu Arg Glu Thr Ala Ala Asp Ser Asp Ala Arg Ser Arg Gly Pro 755 760 765 Val Ala Tyr Ala Ser Gln Lys Pro Trp Leu Leu Asn Ala Thr Val Glu 770 775 780 Glu Asn Ile Thr Phe Glu Ser Pro Phe Asn Lys Gln Arg Tyr Lys Met 785 790 795 800 Val Ile Glu Ala Cys Ser Leu Gln Pro Asp Ile Asp Ile Leu Pro His 805 810 815 Gly Asp Gln Thr Gln Ile Gly Glu Arg Gly Ile Asn Leu Ser Gly Gly 820 825 830 Gln Arg Pro Gly Ile Ser Val Ala Arg Ala Leu Tyr Gln His Thr Asn 835 840 845 Val Val Phe Leu Asp Asp Pro Phe Ser Ala Leu Asp Val His Leu Ser 850 855 860 Asp His Leu Met Gln Ala Gly Ile Leu Glu Leu Leu Arg Asp Asp Lys 865 870 875 880 Arg Thr Val Val Leu Val Thr His Lys Leu Gln Tyr Leu Pro His Ala 885 890 895 Asp Trp Ile Ile Ala Met Lys Asp Gly Thr Ile Gln Arg Glu Gly Thr 900 905 910 Leu Lys Asp Phe Gln Arg Ser Glu Cys Gln Leu Phe Glu His Trp Lys 915 920 925 Thr Leu Met Asn Arg Gln Asp Gln Glu Leu Glu Lys Glu Thr Val Met 930 935 940 Glu Arg Lys Ala Pro Glu Pro Ser Gln Gly Leu Pro Arg Ala Met Ser 945 950 955 960 Ser Arg Asp Gly Leu Leu Leu Asp Glu Asp Glu Glu Glu Glu Glu Ala 965 970 975 Ala Glu Ser Glu Glu Asp Asp Asn Leu Ser Ser Val Leu His Gln Arg 980 985 990 Ala Lys Ile Pro Trp Arg Ala Cys Thr Lys Tyr Leu Ser Ser Ala Gly 995 1000 1005 Ile Leu Leu Leu Ser Leu Leu Val Phe Ser Gln Leu Leu Lys His Met 1010 1015 1020 Val Leu Val Ala Ile Asp Tyr Trp Leu Ala Lys Trp Thr Asp Ser Ala 025 1030 1035 1040 Leu Val Leu Ser Pro Ala Ala Arg Asn Cys Ser Leu Ser Gln Glu Cys 1045 1050 1055 Ala Leu Asp Gln Ser Val Tyr Ala Met Val Phe Thr Val Leu Cys Ser 1060 1065 1070 Leu Gly Ile Ala Leu Cys Leu Val Thr Ser Val Thr Val Glu Trp Thr 1075 1080 1085 Gly Leu Lys Val Ala Lys Arg Leu His Arg Ser Leu Leu Asn Arg Ile 1090 1095 1100 Ile Leu Ala Pro Met Arg Phe Phe Glu Thr Thr Pro Leu Gly Ser Ile 1105 1110 1115 1120 Leu Asn Arg Phe Ser Ser Asp Cys Asn Thr Ile Asp Gln His Ile Pro 1125 1130 1135 Ser Thr Leu Glu Cys Leu Ser Arg Ser Thr Leu Leu Cys Val Ser Ala 1140 1145 1150 Leu Ala Val Ile Ser Tyr Val Thr Pro Val Phe Leu Val Ala Leu Leu 1155 1160 1165 Pro Leu Ala Val Val Cys Tyr Phe Ile Gln Lys Tyr Phe Arg Val Ala 1170 1175 1180 Ser Arg Asp Leu Gln Gln Leu Asp Asp Thr Thr Gln Leu Pro Leu Leu 1185 1190 1195 1200 Ser His Phe Ala Glu Thr Val Glu Gly Leu Thr Thr Ile Arg Ala Phe 1205 1210 1215 Arg Tyr Glu Ala Arg Phe Gln Gln Lys Leu Leu Glu Tyr Thr Asp Ser 1220 1225 1230 Asn Asn Ile Ala Ser Leu Phe Leu Thr Ala Ala Asn Arg Trp Leu Glu 1235 1240 1245 Val Arg Met Glu Tyr Ile Gly Ala Cys Val Val Leu Ile Ala Ala Ala 1250 1255 1260 Thr Ser Ile Ser Asn Ser Leu His Arg Glu Leu Ser Ala Gly Leu Val 1265 1270 1275 1280 Gly Leu Gly Leu Thr Tyr Ala Leu Met Val Ser Asn Tyr Leu Asn Trp 1285 1290 1295 Met Val Arg Asn Leu Ala Asp Met Glu Ile Gln Leu Gly Ala Val Lys 1300 1305 1310 Gly Ile His Thr Leu Leu Lys Thr Glu Ala Glu Ser Tyr Glu Gly Leu 1315 1320 1325 Leu Ala Pro Ser Leu Ile Pro Lys Asn Trp Pro Asp Gln Gly Lys Ile 1330 1335 1340 Gln Ile Gln Asn Leu Ser Val Arg Tyr Asp Ser Ser Leu Lys Pro Val 1345 1350 1355 1360 Leu Lys His Val Asn Ala Leu Ile Ser Pro Gly Gln Lys Ile Gly Ile 1365 1370 1375 Cys Gly Arg Thr Gly Ser Gly Lys Ser Ser Phe Ser Leu Ala Phe Phe 1380 1385 1390 Arg Met Val Asp Met Phe Glu Gly Arg Ile Ile Ile Asp Gly Ile Asp 1395 1400 1405 Ile Ala Lys Leu Pro Leu His Thr Leu Arg Ser Arg Leu Ser Ile Ile 1410 1415 1420 Leu Gln Asp Pro Val Leu Phe Ser Gly Thr Ile Arg Phe Asn Leu Asp 1425 1430 1435 1440 Pro Glu Lys Lys Cys Ser Asp Ser Thr Leu Trp Glu Ala Leu Glu Ile 1445 1450 1455 Ala Gln Leu Lys Leu Val Val Lys Ala Leu Pro Gly Gly Leu Asp Ala 1460 1465 1470 Ile Ile Thr Glu Gly Gly Glu Asn Phe Ser Gln Gly Gln Arg Gln Leu 1475 1480 1485 Phe Cys Leu Ala Arg Ala Phe Val Arg Lys Thr Ser Ile Phe Ile Met 1490 1495 1500 Asp Glu Ala Thr Ala Ser Ile Asp Met Ala Thr Glu Asn Ile Leu Gln 1505 1510 1515 1520 Lys Val Val Met Thr Ala Phe Ala Asp Arg Thr Val Val Thr Ile Ala 1525 1530 1535 His Arg Val His Thr Ile Leu Ser Ala Asp Leu Val Met Val Leu Lys 1540 1545 1550 Arg Gly Ala Ile Leu Glu Phe Asp Lys Pro Glu Lys Leu Leu Ser Gln 1555 1560 1565 Lys Asp Ser Val Phe Ala Ser Phe Val Arg Ala Asp Lys 1570 1575 1580 1582 amino acids amino acid single linear peptide unknown GenBank 784874 5 Met Pro Leu Ala Phe Cys Gly Thr Glu Asn His Ser Ala Ala Tyr Arg 1 5 10 15 Val Asp Gln Gly Val Leu Asn Asn Gly Cys Phe Val Asp Ala Leu Asn 20 25 30 Val Val Pro His Val Phe Leu Leu Phe Ile Thr Phe Pro Ile Leu Phe 35 40 45 Ile Gly Trp Gly Ser Gln Ser Ser Lys Val His Ile His His Ser Thr 50 55 60 Trp Leu His Phe Pro Gly His Asn Leu Arg Trp Ile Leu Thr Phe Ile 65 70 75 80 Leu Leu Phe Val Leu Val Cys Glu Ile Ala Glu Gly Ile Leu Ser Asp 85 90 95 Gly Val Thr Glu Ser Arg His Leu His Leu Tyr Met Pro Ala Gly Met 100 105 110 Ala Phe Met Ala Ala Ile Thr Ser Val Val Tyr Tyr His Asn Ile Glu 115 120 125 Thr Ser Asn Phe Pro Lys Leu Leu Ile Ala Leu Leu Ile Tyr Trp Thr 130 135 140 Leu Ala Phe Ile Thr Lys Thr Ile Lys Phe Val Lys Phe Tyr Asp His 145 150 155 160 Ala Ile Gly Phe Ser Gln Leu Arg Phe Cys Leu Thr Gly Leu Leu Val 165 170 175 Ile Leu Tyr Gly Met Leu Leu Leu Val Glu Val Asn Val Ile Arg Val 180 185 190 Arg Arg Tyr Ile Phe Phe Lys Thr Pro Arg Glu Val Lys Pro Pro Glu 195 200 205 Asp Leu Gln Asp Leu Gly Val Arg Phe Leu Gln Pro Phe Val Asn Leu 210 215 220 Leu Ser Lys Gly Thr Tyr Trp Trp Met Asn Ala Phe Ile Lys Thr Ala 225 230 235 240 His Lys Lys Pro Ile Asp Leu Arg Ala Ile Ala Lys Leu Pro Ile Ala 245 250 255 Met Arg Ala Leu Thr Asn Tyr Gln Arg Leu Cys Val Ala Phe Asp Ala 260 265 270 Gln Ala Arg Lys Asp Thr Gln Ser Pro Gln Gly Ala Arg Ala Ile Trp 275 280 285 Arg Ala Leu Cys His Ala Phe Gly Arg Arg Leu Ile Leu Ser Ser Thr 290 295 300 Phe Arg Ile Leu Ala Asp Leu Leu Gly Phe Ala Gly Pro Leu Cys Ile 305 310 315 320 Phe Gly Ile Val Asp His Leu Gly Lys Glu Asn His Val Phe Gln Pro 325 330 335 Lys Thr Gln Phe Leu Gly Val Tyr Phe Val Ser Ser Gln Glu Phe Leu 340 345 350 Gly Asn Ala Tyr Val Leu Ala Val Leu Leu Phe Leu Ala Leu Leu Leu 355 360 365 Gln Arg Thr Phe Leu Gln Ala Ser Tyr Tyr Val Ala Ile Glu Thr Gly 370 375 380 Ile Asn Leu Arg Gly Ala Ile Gln Thr Lys Ile Tyr Asn Lys Ile Met 385 390 395 400 His Met Ser Thr Ser Asn Leu Ser Met Gly Glu Met Thr Ala Gly Gln 405 410 415 Ile Cys Asn Leu Val Ala Ile Asp Thr Asn Gln Leu Met Trp Phe Phe 420 425 430 Phe Leu Cys Pro Asn Leu Trp Thr Met Pro Val Gln Ile Ile Val Gly 435 440 445 Val Ile Leu Leu Tyr Tyr Ile Leu Gly Val Ser Ala Leu Ile Gly Ala 450 455 460 Ala Val Ile Ile Leu Leu Ala Pro Val Gln Tyr Phe Val Ala Thr Lys 465 470 475 480 Leu Ser Gln Ala Gln Arg Thr Thr Leu Glu His Ser Asn Glu Arg Leu 485 490 495 Lys Gln Thr Asn Glu Met Leu Arg Gly Met Lys Leu Leu Lys Leu Tyr 500 505 510 Ala Trp Glu Ser Ile Phe Cys Ser Arg Val Glu Val Thr Arg Arg Lys 515 520 525 Glu Met Thr Ser Leu Arg Ala Phe Ala Val Tyr Thr Ser Ile Ser Ile 530 535 540 Phe Met Asn Thr Ala Ile Pro Ile Ala Ala Val Leu Ile Thr Phe Val 545 550 555 560 Gly His Val Ser Phe Phe Lys Glu Ser Asp Leu Ser Pro Ser Val Ala 565 570 575 Phe Ala Ser Leu Ser Leu Phe His Ile Leu Val Thr Pro Leu Phe Leu 580 585 590 Leu Ser Ser Val Val Arg Ser Thr Val Lys Ala Leu Val Ser Val Gln 595 600 605 Lys Leu Ser Glu Phe Leu Ser Ser Ala Glu Ile Arg Glu Glu Gln Cys 610 615 620 Ala Pro Arg Glu Pro Ala Pro Gln Gly Gln Ala Gly Lys Tyr Gln Ala 625 630 635 640 Val Pro Leu Lys Val Val Asn Arg Lys Arg Pro Ala Arg Glu Glu Val 645 650 655 Arg Asp Leu Leu Gly Pro Leu Gln Arg Leu Ala Pro Ser Met Asp Gly 660 665 670 Asp Ala Asp Asn Phe Cys Val Gln Ile Ile Gly Gly Phe Phe Thr Trp 675 680 685 Thr Pro Asp Gly Ile Pro Thr Leu Ser Asn Ile Thr Ile Arg Ile Pro 690 695 700 Arg Gly Gln Leu Thr Met Ile Val Gly Gln Val Gly Cys Gly Lys Ser 705 710 715 720 Ser Leu Leu Leu Ala Thr Leu Gly Glu Met Gln Lys Val Ser Gly Ala 725 730 735 Val Phe Trp Asn Ser Asn Leu Pro Asp Ser Glu Gly Arg Gly Pro Gln 740 745 750 Gln Pro Arg Ala Gly Asp Ser Ser Trp Leu Gly Tyr Gln Glu Gln Arg 755 760 765 Pro Arg Gly Tyr Ala Ser Gln Lys Pro Trp Leu Leu Asn Ala Thr Val 770 775 780 Glu Glu Asn Ile Thr Phe Glu Ser Pro Phe Asn Pro Gln Arg Tyr Lys 785 790 795 800 Met Val Ile Glu Ala Cys Ser Leu Gln Pro Asp Ile Asp Ile Leu Pro 805 810 815 His Gly Asp Gln Thr Gln Ile Gly Glu Arg Gly Ile Asn Leu Ser Gly 820 825 830 Gly Gln Arg Pro Asp Gln Cys Gly Pro Glu Pro Ser Thr Ser Arg Pro 835 840 845 Met Phe Val Phe Leu Asp Asp Pro Phe Ser Ala Leu Asp Val His Leu 850 855 860 Ser Asp His Leu Met Gln Ala Gly Ile Leu Glu Leu Leu Arg Asp Asp 865 870 875 880 Lys Arg Thr Val Val Leu Val Thr His Lys Leu Gln Tyr Leu Pro His 885 890 895 Ala Asp Trp Ile Ile Ala Met Lys Asp Gly Thr Ile Gln Arg Glu Gly 900 905 910 Thr Leu Lys Asp Phe Gln Arg Ser Glu Cys Gln Leu Phe Glu His Trp 915 920 925 Lys Thr Leu Met Asn Arg Gln Asp Gln Glu Leu Glu Lys Glu Thr Val 930 935 940 Met Glu Arg Lys Ala Ser Glu Pro Ser Gln Gly Leu Pro Arg Ala Met 945 950 955 960 Ser Ser Arg Asp Gly Leu Leu Leu Asp Glu Glu Glu Glu Glu Glu Glu 965 970 975 Ala Ala Glu Ser Glu Glu Asp Asp Asn Leu Ser Ser Val Leu His Gln 980 985 990 Arg Ala Lys Ile Pro Trp Arg Ala Cys Thr Lys Tyr Leu Ser Ser Ala 995 1000 1005 Gly Ile Leu Leu Leu Ser Leu Leu Val Phe Ser Gln Leu Leu Lys His 1010 1015 1020 Met Val Leu Val Ala Ile Asp Tyr Trp Leu Ala Lys Trp Thr Asp Ser 1025 1030 1035 1040 Ala Leu Val Leu Ser Pro Ala Ala Arg Asn Cys Ser Leu Ser Gln Glu 1045 1050 1055 Cys Asp Leu Asp Gln Ser Val Tyr Ala Met Val Phe Thr Leu Leu Cys 1060 1065 1070 Ser Leu Gly Ile Val Leu Cys Leu Val Thr Ser Val Thr Val Glu Trp 1075 1080 1085 Thr Gly Leu Lys Val Ala Lys Arg Leu His Arg Ser Leu Leu Asn Arg 1090 1095 1100 Ile Ile Leu Ala Pro Met Arg Phe Phe Glu Thr Thr Pro Leu Gly Ser 1105 1110 1115 1120 Ile Leu Asn Arg Phe Ser Ser Asp Cys Asn Thr Ile Asp Gln His Ile 1125 1130 1135 Pro Ser Thr Leu Glu Cys Leu Ser Arg Ser Thr Leu Leu Cys Val Ser 1140 1145 1150 Ala Leu Thr Val Ile Ser Tyr Val Thr Pro Val Phe Leu Val Ala Leu 1155 1160 1165 Leu Pro Leu Ala Val Val Cys Tyr Phe Ile Gln Lys Tyr Phe Arg Val 1170 1175 1180 Ala Ser Arg Asp Leu Gln Gln Leu Asp Asp Thr Thr Gln Leu Pro Leu 1185 1190 1195 1200 Val Ser His Phe Ala Glu Thr Val Glu Gly Leu Thr Thr Ile Arg Ala 1205 1210 1215 Phe Arg Tyr Glu Ala Arg Phe Gln Gln Lys Leu Leu Glu Tyr Thr Asp 1220 1225 1230 Ser Asn Asn Ile Ala Ser Leu Phe Leu Thr Ala Ala Asn Arg Trp Leu 1235 1240 1245 Glu Val Cys Met Glu Tyr Ile Gly Ala Cys Val Val Leu Ile Ala Ala 1250 1255 1260 Ala Thr Ser Ile Ser Asn Ser Leu His Arg Glu Leu Ser Ala Gly Leu 1265 1270 1275 1280 Val Gly Leu Gly Leu Thr Tyr Ala Leu Met Val Ser Asn Tyr Leu Asn 1285 1290 1295 Trp Met Val Arg Asn Leu Ala Asp Met Glu Ile Gln Leu Gly Ala Val 1300 1305 1310 Lys Arg Ile His Ala Leu Leu Lys Thr Glu Ala Glu Ser Tyr Glu Gly 1315 1320 1325 Leu Leu Ala Pro Ser Leu Ile Pro Lys Asn Trp Pro Asp Gln Gly Lys 1330 1335 1340 Ile Gln Ile Gln Asn Leu Ser Val Arg Tyr Asp Ser Ser Leu Lys Pro 1345 1350 1355 1360 Val Leu Lys His Val Asn Thr Leu Ile Ser Pro Gly Gln Lys Ile Gly 1365 1370 1375 Ile Cys Gly Arg Thr Gly Ser Gly Lys Ser Ser Phe Ser Leu Ala Phe 1380 1385 1390 Phe Arg Met Val Asp Met Phe Glu Gly Arg Ile Ile Ile Asp Gly Ile 1395 1400 1405 Asp Ile Ala Lys Leu Pro Leu His Thr Leu Arg Ser Arg Leu Ser Ile 1410 1415 1420 Ile Leu Gln Asp Pro Val Leu Phe Ser Gly Thr Ile Arg Phe Asn Leu 1425 1430 1435 1440 Asp Pro Glu Lys Lys Cys Ser Asp Ser Thr Leu Trp Glu Ala Leu Glu 1445 1450 1455 Ile Ala Gln Leu Lys Leu Val Val Lys Ala Leu Pro Gly Gly Leu Asp 1460 1465 1470 Ala Ile Ile Thr Glu Gly Gly Glu Asn Phe Ser Gln Gly Gln Arg Gln 1475 1480 1485 Leu Phe Cys Leu Ala Arg Ala Phe Val Arg Lys Thr Ser Ile Phe Ile 1490 1495 1500 Met Asp Glu Ala Thr Ala Ser Ile Asp Met Ala Thr Glu Asn Ile Leu 1505 1510 1515 1520 Gln Lys Val Val Met Thr Ala Phe Ala Asp Arg Thr Val Val Thr Ile 1525 1530 1535 Ala His Arg Val His Thr Ile Leu Ser Ala Asp Leu Val Met Val Leu 1540 1545 1550 Lys Arg Gly Ala Ile Leu Glu Phe Asp Lys Pro Glu Thr Leu Leu Ser 1555 1560 1565 Gln Lys Asp Ser Val Phe Ala Ser Phe Val Arg Ala Asp Lys 1570 1575 1580 

What is claimed is:
 1. An isolated and purified polynucleotide encoding the human sulfonylurea receptor of SEQ ID NO:
 1. 2. An isolated polynucleotide comprising nucleotides T₂₇₈₀ to A₂₉₂₃ of SEQ ID NO:2.
 3. An isolated polynucleotide comprising a nucleotide sequence which is complementary to SEQ ID NO:2 or a fragment thereof comprising nucleotides T₂₇₈₀ to A₂₉₂₃ of SEQ ID NO:2.
 4. An isolated polynucleotide which hybridizes under stringent conditions to a polynucleotide having the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:2.
 5. A hybridization probe comprising the complement of SEQ ID NO:2, or a fragment thereof comprising nucleotides T₂₇₈₀ to A₂₉₂₃ of SEQ ID NO:2.
 6. A hybridization probe comprising the complement of nucleotides T₂₇₈₀ to A₂₉₂₃ of SEQ ID NO:2.
 7. An isolated polynucleotide comprising the nucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:2.
 8. A recombinant expression vector containing the polynucleotide of claim
 7. 9. A recombinant host cell containing the expression vector of claim
 8. 10. A method for producing the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 1 comprising the steps of: a) culturing the host cell of claim 9 under conditions suitable for the expression of the polypeptide; and b) recovering the polypeptide from the host cell culture. 